Spectrum allocations: The aeronautical telemetry story in the USA

Aeronautical telemetry encompasses all the technologies necessary to successfully monitor airborne test articles, such as fixed and rotary wing aircraft, missiles, and drones. Aeronautical telemetry is primarily focused on the final stages of development when the test article performs the maneuvers required to operate in its deployed environment. Necessarily, the test article is "in the air" while the flight test engineers who monitor its performance are "on the ground." The key enabling resource for aeronautical telemetry is spectrum: bandwidth is needed to transmit the measurements from the test article to the ground so flight test engineers can monitor the test, the safety of which is paramount.