When using a transmitter and a receiver, how many antennas are needed on the AV and on the ground station?

In a typical setup involving a transmitter and a receiver for a small Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS), both the aerial vehicle (AV) and the ground station should ideally be equipped with two antennas each. This is due to the principle of diversity in RF communication, which aims to increase the reliability of the signal transmission and reception.

From the aerial vehicle perspective, having dual antennas can help overcome issues of multipath interference, where signals arrive at the receiver at different times due to reflections off surfaces. By employing two antennas, the system can utilize diversity techniques such as spatial diversity or polarization diversity, which allows it to select the best signal for clearer communication.

Similarly, the ground station also benefits from having two antennas. This redundancy helps ensure that there is a stronger, more stable connection between the AV and the ground control, even in challenging environments where signal fluctuations may occur.

Thus, the requirement for two antennas on both the AV and the ground station ensures that the communication link remains robust and minimizes the chances of losing control or telemetry data during operations.