Enhancing the operational reliability of unmanned aerial vehicles in northern conditions

The operation of Unmanned Aerial Systems in Arctic regions presents several challenges. These include extremely low temperatures, harsh weather conditions (strong winds, icing, and high moisture content), limited satellite navigation performance, significant ionospheric effects on radio communication, and insufficient maintenance infrastructure – especially during missions over marine areas. This article presents a set of engineering solutions, several of which are protected by patents, aimed at improving the operational reliability of Unmanned Aerial Systems in Arctic and sub- Arctic environments. Previous work by the authors introduced several developments for Arctic-ready Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, including multi-stator brushless direct-current motors with improved thermal performance, advanced voltage regulation modules, automated systems for monitoring propeller rotational speed and power consumption, and enhanced long-range communication solutions for ionospheric conditions, etc. The article emphasises the need for further research and development to fully realise the potential of new Unmanned Aerial Vehicle technologies. Although these solutions have not yet been deployed on a large scale, the authors estimate their practical potential as high.