An air-based network networking method based on dynamic flight plan of civil aircraft

Abstract

This invention provides a method for building an airborne network based on the dynamic flight plan of a civil aircraft, belonging to the field of integrated air-space-ground network technology. It solves the communication assurance problems caused by network topology changes and link instability when civil aircraft act as airborne mobile base stations. The method involves acquiring dynamic flight plan data of the civil aircraft and combining it with space-based and ground-based data to generate fused network situational information; pre-planning paths for the civil aircraft and pre-allocating communication resources to relevant network nodes; monitoring the actual flight status of the civil aircraft and triggering and executing communication path replanning and resource reallocation when deviations exceed a threshold; and controlling its communication equipment to maintain parallel communication links with both the current serving network node and the target network node during phase transitions, completing the handover under a specific strategy. This invention can fully utilize prior information from the flight plan to maintain reliable and continuous data communication capabilities.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of integrated air-space-ground network technology, specifically to a method for building an air-based network based on dynamic flight plans of civil aircraft. Background Technology

[0002] The vision of sixth-generation mobile communication technology (6G) is to achieve seamless global coverage. Its core architecture is an integrated air-ground-space network, designed to combine air, ground, and satellite resources to provide users with ubiquitous, high-quality communication services. In this architecture, air-based communication nodes can effectively fill communication gaps in remote areas such as oceans and deserts that cannot be covered by ground base stations, thus supporting the grand goal of global interconnection.

[0003] Currently, various airborne communication solutions have been proposed and researched, mainly including high-altitude balloons, drones, and geostationary satellites. While high-altitude balloons offer flexible deployment and relatively low cost, their controllability is poor, making precise trajectory control and stable network maintenance difficult. Drones, as highly mobile aerial platforms, are limited by short endurance and limited payload, making it difficult to support large-scale, long-duration continuous communication tasks. Geostationary satellites can provide wide-area coverage, but they suffer from significant transmission latency, high deployment and maintenance costs, and struggle to meet the growing demand for low-latency, high-reliability communication. These limitations mean that existing solutions still face significant challenges in achieving seamless global coverage.

[0004] As a globally operating airborne platform, civil aircraft perform numerous flights daily, naturally covering many areas with weak ground signals. Utilizing these aircraft to carry communication payloads to construct a dynamic airborne communication network offers inherent geographical coverage advantages and continuous mobility, providing new possibilities for overcoming the shortcomings of existing solutions. However, transforming this concept into a practically usable communication system still faces a series of pressing technical challenges.

[0005] The high-speed movement of aircraft leads to highly dynamic changes in network topology, and these changes can only be partially predicted. Although flight plans can be obtained in advance, providing some prior information for network planning, unexpected situations such as delays and diversions occur frequently in actual operations, requiring the network to have the ability to perceive topology changes in real time and quickly reconstruct it. This poses a significant challenge to traditional static or semi-static networking algorithms. During takeoff and landing, the attitude, speed, and altitude of aircraft change drastically, and communication links with ground stations or other nodes are prone to instability or even interruption. Ensuring communication continuity throughout the entire flight is a critical challenge. Furthermore, when an aircraft suddenly changes course or leaves the network due to emergencies such as severe weather or mechanical failure, how to seamlessly and reliably migrate the communication services carried on board to ensure service continuity is also a complex problem that has not yet been properly resolved.

[0006] While existing technologies have proposed basic architectures for wide-area airborne wireless communication networks, they often fail to leverage prior knowledge of flight plans for intelligent network optimization, and lack specific and efficient algorithms to ensure communication continuity during takeoff and landing phases and in case of unexpected emergencies. Therefore, the field still needs a networking method that can fully integrate the dynamic flight characteristics of aircraft, adapt to highly dynamic network environments, and ensure communication reliability throughout the entire flight, in order to promote the practical deployment and application of integrated air-space-ground networks. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The purpose of this invention is to address the communication continuity and reliability issues arising from the highly dynamic changes in network topology, link instability during takeoff and landing, and difficulties in migrating services in abnormal situations when using civil aircraft as airborne mobile base stations. Therefore, this invention proposes an airborne network construction method based on dynamic flight plans of civil aircraft. This invention can fully utilize prior information from flight plans to achieve intelligent pre-planning and dynamic adjustment of airborne network resources, ensuring reliable and continuous data communication capabilities for aircraft throughout the entire flight phase, especially during takeoff, landing, and emergency situations.

[0008] The present invention employs the following technical solutions to achieve its objective: A method for building an airborne network based on dynamic flight plans of civil aircraft includes the following steps: S1. Acquire dynamic flight plan data of civil aircraft and fuse it with real-time status data of space-based network nodes and ground-based network nodes to generate fused network situation information; S2. Based on the fused network situational information, pre-plan the end-to-end communication path for the civil aircraft throughout its flight, and pre-allocate communication resources to relevant network nodes according to the end-to-end communication path; S3. Monitor the actual flight status of the civil aircraft in real time. When the deviation between the actual flight status and the dynamic flight plan data exceeds a preset threshold, trigger and execute the replanning and resource reallocation of the affected communication path. S4. During the phase transition of the flight of the civil aircraft, the civil aircraft controls its communication equipment to maintain parallel communication links with the current service network node and the next target network node at the same time, and completes the switching of service flow between the parallel communication links according to the preset switching strategy. S5. When an operational anomaly is detected in the civil aircraft, a data migration strategy is decided and executed to migrate the communication services carried on board to other network nodes based on the attributes of the communication services carried on board.

[0009] Specifically, in step S1, the fused network situation information is generated by fusing the dynamic flight plan data of the civil aircraft, the real-time orbit and link status data of the space-based network nodes, and the real-time topology and load status data of the ground-based network nodes; wherein, the space-based network nodes include low-Earth orbit satellites.

[0010] Furthermore, in step S2, when pre-planning the end-to-end communication path for the civil aircraft, the calculation is performed with the end-to-end latency of the communication service and the network link utilization rate as joint optimization objectives; and, communication resources are pre-allocated to relevant network nodes according to the end-to-end communication path, including converting the path policy into network control signaling and sending it in advance to relevant satellites, ground gateways and the airborne communication equipment of the civil aircraft.

[0011] Preferably, step S3 specifically includes: establishing real-time monitoring of the actual flight trajectory of the civil aircraft and comparing it with the dynamic flight plan data; when the deviation is detected to exceed the preset threshold, assessing the impact range of the deviation on the pre-planned communication path; based on the assessment result of the impact range, deciding to perform local path adjustment or trigger a global re-optimization process, and recalculating the affected communication path based on the latest network status, and incrementally updating the resource configuration of relevant network nodes.

[0012] Preferably, in step S4, the parallel communication links maintained during the phase transition are used for parallel data transmission within a preset switching time window; and during the parallel transmission, a data packet-level synchronization mechanism is adopted to maintain the consistency of the same service data transmitted through different parallel communication links.

[0013] Specifically, based on the preset switching strategy, the signal quality, transmission latency, latency jitter, and service type requirements of the target network node link are comprehensively evaluated. When the comprehensive evaluation result of the target network node link is consistently better than that of the current serving network node link, and the degree of superiority exceeds a preset threshold, the final switching of the service flow from the current serving network node link to the target network node link is triggered, and the original current serving network node link is dismantled after the switching is completed.

[0014] Preferably, in step S5, a decision is made based on the attributes of the communication service being carried, including the service priority and data type; the decision on the data migration strategy is based on an assessment of the urgency of the relevant events corresponding to the operational anomaly and the real-time status of available network node resources in the surrounding area.

[0015] Preferably, the data migration strategy includes at least one of the following: For real-time session-based services, a session context migration paradigm is adopted to quickly migrate the communication session to the selected optimal nearest aircraft or satellite link. For non-real-time, high-capacity data services, an airborne latency-tolerant network paradigm is adopted. After the data is segmented, it is asynchronously stored-and-forwarded through opportunistic links composed of multiple surrounding aircraft.

[0016] Preferably, the civil aircraft is equipped with a 6G communication payload, which serves as an airborne mobile base station, accesses the integrated air-space-ground network composed of the space-based network nodes and the ground-based network nodes, and coordinates with the integrated air-space-ground network based on the dynamic flight plan data.

[0017] Specifically, the method is executed by an airborne network system; the airborne network system includes a flight planning and network control center, a civil aircraft carrying communication payloads, a low-Earth orbit satellite constellation, and ground base stations; wherein, the flight planning and network control center is used to perform decision-making and coordination functions in steps S1, S2, S3, and S5, and to interact with the civil aircraft, the low-Earth orbit satellite constellation, and the ground base stations to perform resource allocation and path control.

[0018] In summary, due to the adoption of this technical solution, the beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: This invention integrates dynamic flight plans of civil aircraft with real-time status data from space-based and ground-based networks, and pre-plans end-to-end communication paths and pre-allocates resources based on this data. This enables airborne networks to fully utilize prior information, transforming them from passively responding to topology changes to proactive networks with predictive and planning capabilities. This transformation significantly improves the intelligence level of network management and the foresight of resource allocation, thereby optimizing overall network performance and operational efficiency.

[0019] Addressing the inherent challenge of unstable communication links during flight transitions such as takeoff and landing, this invention achieves seamless communication service continuity by controlling parallel communication links and performing policy-based service flow switching. This approach ensures smooth link transitions and continuous data transmission during critical phases, effectively overcoming the service interruption inherent in traditional switching methods and guaranteeing reliable communication throughout the entire flight.

[0020] In response to unforeseen scenarios where aircraft deviate from plans or leave the network due to unforeseen circumstances, this invention provides the network with strong resilience and self-healing capabilities by intelligently making decisions and executing data migration strategies based on service attributes. Whether it's the rapid relay of real-time sessions or the delayed transmission of non-real-time data, it ensures that user services are maintained to the greatest extent possible when nodes fail, significantly improving network service reliability and user experience.

[0021] This invention employs a global-perspective path pre-calculation and dynamic reconstruction mechanism, combined with link management and resource scheduling, to efficiently utilize limited integrated air-space-ground network resources. This invention avoids blind and wasteful resource allocation, improving the capacity and resource utilization of the entire network system while meeting diverse service quality requirements, thus providing effective technical support for building large-scale, high-efficiency air-based mobile communication networks. Attached Figure Description

[0022] The present invention is described in detail with reference to the following figures, which include three figures as follows: Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the overall process of the space-based network networking method of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the integrated air-space-ground network that the method of the present invention is intended to ultimately form; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the stage division of the flight process of a civil aircraft in the method of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0023] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. The components of the embodiments of the present invention described and shown in the accompanying drawings can generally be arranged and designed in various different configurations.

[0024] Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the invention provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention, but merely to illustrate selected embodiments of the invention. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of the invention.

[0025] Example 1 A method for building an airborne network based on dynamic flight plans of civil aircraft. Figure 1 The overall process of this method is briefly described below and can be viewed concurrently; the key steps of this method can be summarized as follows: S1. Acquire dynamic flight plan data of civil aircraft and fuse it with real-time status data of space-based network nodes and ground-based network nodes to generate fused network situation information; S2. Based on the converged network situational information, pre-plan the end-to-end communication path for civil aircraft throughout its flight, and pre-allocate communication resources to relevant network nodes according to the end-to-end communication path; S3. Real-time monitoring of the actual flight status of civil aircraft. When the deviation between the actual flight status and the dynamic flight plan data exceeds a preset threshold, triggering and executing the replanning and resource reallocation of the affected communication paths. S4. During the phase transition of a civil aircraft flight, the civil aircraft controls its communication equipment to maintain parallel communication links with the current service network node and the next target network node, and completes the switching of service flows between parallel communication links according to a preset switching strategy. S5. When an operational anomaly is detected in a civil aircraft, a data migration strategy is decided and executed to migrate the communication services to other network nodes based on the attributes of the communication services carried on board.

[0026] This embodiment will provide a detailed and preferred description of each step in the above method.

[0027] Unlike traditional passive responses to network changes, the core of this embodiment is pre-planning and dynamic adjustment. Firstly, the dynamic flight plan of the civil aircraft is acquired and integrated. This plan includes key spatiotemporal information such as flight number, estimated departure time, cruising altitude, waypoint sequence, and estimated arrival time. Based on this valuable prior knowledge, the method can pre-calculate the optimal communication path for each flight throughout its journey, from door closing to door opening. This changes the management paradigm of airborne networks, transforming it from completely passive to predictable, plannable, and optimizable, thereby significantly improving management efficiency and network performance. During flight, the pre-planned path is not executed directly; instead, dynamic link management and switching are performed based on real-time status to ensure continuous and reliable communication. The method also includes an intelligent data handover mechanism to handle unexpected emergencies, providing reliable communication throughout the entire flight.

[0028] In step S1, the fused network situation information is generated by fusing dynamic flight plan data of civil aircraft, real-time orbit and link status data of space-based network nodes, and real-time topology and load status data of ground-based network nodes; among which, space-based network nodes include low-Earth orbit satellites.

[0029] In this embodiment, the dynamic flight plan data includes the civil aircraft's flight number, estimated departure time, cruising altitude, waypoint sequence, and estimated arrival time. The flight number is the aircraft's unique network identifier; the estimated departure and arrival times together define the time window for ensuring communication services; the cruising altitude affects the line-of-sight distance and link budget between the aircraft and different network nodes, especially ground base stations; and most importantly, the waypoint sequence describes the aircraft's expected trajectory in the air and is the core basis for calculating when to connect to which satellite or ground base station. This embodiment continuously acquires and updates this dynamic flight plan data through interfaces such as the airline operator's scheduling system or aviation telecommunications network to ensure that the spatiotemporal information upon which the pre-planning is based is as accurate as possible.

[0030] Dynamic flight plan data alone is insufficient, as communication path planning must be based on the actual, dynamically changing network resource status. Therefore, this embodiment continuously inputs and integrates two additional key data dimensions: first, precise ephemeris data of low-Earth orbit satellites, which provides the orbital position and velocity of each satellite over a future period, allowing for the calculation of the visible time window and link quality between the satellite and the aircraft; second, real-time topology and load status of ground base stations, including the geographical location, coverage area, number of currently connected terminals, spectrum resource utilization, and backhaul link load of each base station. By integrating the flight plan, satellite ephemeris, and base station status data, a global network view is obtained, which can then be used to execute the optimization process in step S2.

[0031] In a preferred embodiment, the civil aircraft carries a 6G communication payload, which acts as an airborne mobile base station, accessing an integrated air-space-ground network composed of space-based and ground-based network nodes, and coordinating with the integrated air-space-ground network based on dynamic flight plan data. The architecture of the integrated air-space-ground network can be found in [reference needed]. Figure 2 The illustration.

[0032] In step S2, when pre-planning the end-to-end communication path for civil aircraft, the calculation is performed with the end-to-end latency of the communication service and the network link utilization rate as joint optimization objectives; and, based on the end-to-end communication path, communication resources are pre-allocated to relevant network nodes, including converting the path policy into network control signaling and sending it in advance to relevant satellites, ground gateways and airborne communication equipment of civil aircraft.

[0033] This embodiment also divides the flight process of a civil aircraft into the takeoff phase, the cruise phase, and the landing phase, as shown in [reference]. Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram. During the takeoff phase, network pre-planning and dynamic reconfiguration are primarily completed. During the cruise and landing phases, seamless link management is achieved throughout the entire flight, corresponding to steps S2 to S5 in the method.

[0034] Based on dynamic flight plan data from the fused network situational information, end-to-end communication paths for civil aircraft during takeoff, landing, and cruise phases can be planned. Preferably, in this embodiment, precise ephemeris data from low-Earth orbit satellites and real-time topology and load status of ground base stations are acquired during planning. Based on the dynamic flight plan, precise ephemeris data, and real-time topology and load status, and with service latency and link utilization as optimization objectives, the end-to-end data forwarding path for the entire civil aircraft's journey is pre-calculated.

[0035] The pre-calculation process for end-to-end data forwarding paths here aims to minimize end-to-end service latency and maximize overall link utilization. Network optimization algorithms are used to pre-calculate the optimal or near-optimal data forwarding path set for each flight's entire journey. In a certain flight segment, it might be determined that connecting to satellite A provides lower latency than satellite B; and as the destination approaches, traffic might be redirected in advance to a less overloaded ground base station sector to avoid network congestion.

[0036] In this embodiment, based on the dynamic flight plan, precise ephemeris, and real-time topology and load status, the end-to-end data forwarding path of the entire civil aircraft is pre-calculated. The specific implementation method is as follows: Continuously input and integrate dynamic flight plans, precise ephemeris data, and real-time topology and load status; With the optimization goals of business latency and link utilization, the end-to-end data forwarding path of each planned flight is pre-calculated to form the optimal path set under the global network view; The calculated path strategy is transformed into a specific network flow table or control signaling, and distributed in advance to relevant satellites, ground gateways and aircraft 6G communication payloads to complete the pre-scheduling of network resources.

[0037] During this process, dynamic flight plans, precise ephemeris data, and real-time topology and load status are acquired. The resulting fused network situational information forms the data foundation for all subsequent steps. Global path pre-calculation is a centralized optimization process based on a global view, and its output is a customized communication and navigation map for each aircraft. Network configuration distribution is the process of translating written policies into executable instructions for network devices, thereby completing the pre-scheduling of network resources. The control center will issue flow tables to relevant satellites and ground gateways in advance, specifying the selection of specific forwarding ports for data packets identified by specific flights at specific times. At the same time, the switching strategy will also be pre-configured into the aircraft's 6G communication payload through ground base stations or initial satellite links.

[0038] As a preferred embodiment, step S3 specifically includes: establishing real-time monitoring of the actual flight trajectory of civil aircraft and comparing it with dynamic flight plan data; when a deviation is detected to exceed a preset threshold, assessing the impact range of the deviation on the pre-planned communication path; based on the assessment result of the impact range, deciding to adjust the local path or trigger the global re-optimization process, and recalculating the affected communication path based on the latest network status, and incrementally updating the resource configuration of relevant network nodes.

[0039] This step applies the real-time monitoring mechanism in the method, continuously comparing the aircraft's actual flight trajectory with the planned trajectory. When a deviation exceeding a preset threshold is detected, the path reconstruction process is immediately triggered. Furthermore, based on the scope of the deviation's impact, a decision can be made on whether to perform local path repair or global re-optimization. Based on the latest network status, the path for the affected flights is recalculated, and the configuration of relevant network nodes is incrementally updated to achieve smooth reconstruction of the network topology.

[0040] In this embodiment, the aircraft's actual position is continuously monitored by receiving ADS-B position signals broadcast by the aircraft. Once the deviation between the actual position and the planned trajectory exceeds a preset threshold, it means that the pre-planned communication path may no longer be optimal or even fail, and reconstruction must be triggered. This preset threshold can be flexibly set according to actual needs based on the flight segment and airspace.

[0041] The path reconfiguration process involves local or global reconfiguration decisions and execution. If an aircraft only slightly deviates from its course to avoid severe weather, it may only require minor adjustments to the next switching satellite as a local fix. However, if an emergency diversion to another airport is necessary due to mechanical failure, a global re-optimization is required. This involves recalculating the entire communication path from the current location to the alternate airport and rapidly updating the configuration of all relevant network nodes. This process should be carried out as smoothly as possible to avoid impacting ongoing communication services.

[0042] In step S4, the parallel communication links maintained during the phase transition are used for parallel data transmission within a preset switching time window; and during the parallel transmission process, a data packet-level synchronization mechanism is adopted to maintain the consistency of the same service data transmitted through different parallel communication links.

[0043] Based on the preset switching strategy, the signal quality, transmission latency, latency jitter, and service type requirements of the target network node link are comprehensively evaluated. When the comprehensive evaluation result of the target network node link is consistently better than that of the current serving network node link, and the degree of superiority exceeds a preset threshold, the final switching of the service flow from the current serving network node link to the target network node link is triggered, and the original current serving network node link is dismantled after the switching is completed.

[0044] As a preferred embodiment, during the flight of the civil aircraft, the establishment, maintenance and switching of links between the civil aircraft and the ground base station and low-orbit satellite are controlled according to the planned end-to-end communication path; during the critical window period of link switching, the source link and the target link are controlled to transmit data in parallel, and the consistency of data transmitted on the two paths is ensured through a data packet-level synchronization mechanism.

[0045] This step corresponds to the parallel transmission and data synchronization strategy in seamless link management throughout the entire flight, and is a core means to solve communication interruption problems during critical phases such as takeoff and landing. Traditional hard handover involves disconnecting the old link and then establishing a new one, resulting in an unavoidable interruption period. This embodiment adopts a soft handover approach, establishing the link first and then disconnecting it. During the critical handover window, such as when the aircraft is about to leave the ground base station's coverage area after takeoff but the satellite link is not yet fully stable, the aircraft's 6G communication payload maintains connections with both the ground base station and the designated low-Earth orbit satellite simultaneously. Uplink data packets are copied and sent to the network simultaneously through both links; downlink data can also be sent by the network via dual paths. Through mechanisms such as data packet sequence number synchronization and timestamp alignment, the network or aircraft can deduplicate and sort the two received data packets, ensuring that the application layer perceives a continuous, non-repeating, and lossless data stream. This method effectively avoids service interruptions or disconnections caused by momentary quality deterioration or interruption of a single link, providing assurance for services with high real-time requirements.

[0046] In this embodiment, during the critical window period of link switching, controlling the source link and the target link to transmit data in parallel includes: Based on predictions of the flight phase, the link establishment process is proactively initiated with the next optimal network node; During parallel transmission, a link switching strategy is defined that comprehensively considers signal strength, latency, jitter, and service type. When the overall evaluation result of the target link is consistently better than that of the source link and exceeds the preset threshold, the controller issues an instruction to complete the final switching of the service flow and the teardown of the source link.

[0047] This process constitutes the complete control logic for seamless handover. Link establishment is proactive, not reactive. For example, during the descent phase of an aircraft's landing, a pre-planned strategy instructs the aircraft to actively scan and attempt to connect to ground base stations at the destination airport, establishing a radio context in advance, rather than frantically searching for ground signals when the satellite link signal is weak. Handover decisions are not based solely on simple signal strength, but on a multi-indicator comprehensive evaluation strategy. The controller continuously monitors the signal strength, transmission latency, and latency jitter of both links, and performs a weighted evaluation based on the type of service currently in progress, such as voice calls or file downloads. A handover action requires certain conditions to be met: the target link's comprehensive evaluation score must not only be better than the source link but also consistently exceed a preset threshold for a period of time to prevent ping-pong handovers caused by brief signal fluctuations. Once the conditions are met, the network controller issues a signaling command to switch the service flow anchor point from the source link to the target link, only then dismantling the source link and releasing its occupied resources. The entire process is seamless for the user's communication process.

[0048] In step S5, a decision is made based on the attributes of the communication service being carried, including the service's priority and data type. The data migration strategy decision is based on an assessment of the urgency of the relevant events corresponding to the operational anomaly and the real-time status of available network node resources in the surrounding area. The data migration strategy includes at least one of the following: For real-time session-based services, a session context migration paradigm is adopted to quickly migrate the communication session to the selected optimal nearest aircraft or satellite link. For non-real-time, high-capacity data services, an airborne latency-tolerant network paradigm is adopted. After the data is segmented, it is asynchronously stored-and-forwarded through opportunistic links composed of multiple surrounding aircraft.

[0049] In this embodiment, when an emergency is detected on a civil aircraft, data migration is performed based on the priority and data type of the service being performed by the civil aircraft. For the first scenario, namely a real-time session service being performed on the civil aircraft, a session migration paradigm is adopted to migrate its session context to a nearby aircraft or satellite link.

[0050] Real-time communication services, such as VoIP voice communication between the cockpit and air traffic control, or real-time video calls between passengers in the cabin, have extremely high requirements for continuity and low latency; interruption is unacceptable. When multiple sources, such as abnormal ADS-B signals, emergency alarms from onboard equipment, and air traffic control notifications, quickly identify an aircraft entering an emergency state that may lead to communication interruption, the method intervenes immediately. For such real-time conversations, a "conversation mirroring" paradigm is adopted. The network control center quickly calculates and selects an optimal relay path, which may involve using another nearby aircraft as an airborne relay or establishing a direct backup link with a designated visible satellite. The key is to rapidly migrate the complete context of the ongoing conversation on the emergency aircraft, including the addresses of both communicating parties, the session state, encoding / decoding information, and security keys, to the selected relay node or new satellite link. The migration process is completed rapidly with the cooperation of the network side and the user plane gateway, allowing the other party to continue interacting with a "mirrorized" conversation almost imperceptibly, thus ensuring the absolute continuity of critical emergency communications.

[0051] For the second scenario, namely non-real-time high-capacity data services on civil aircraft, an airborne delay-tolerant network paradigm is adopted. After the data is packetized, it is transmitted asynchronously by using opportunistic links formed by surrounding aircraft.

[0052] Unlike real-time sessions, these types of services, such as batch downloading of flight data recorders, updating cabin entertainment system content, and periodic reporting of aircraft health management data, have relatively relaxed real-time requirements, but the data volume can be very large. When an aircraft experiences an emergency, its own backhaul link may have limited bandwidth or be interrupted at any time. For this type of data, an "airborne delay-tolerant network" paradigm is adopted. Its core idea is to use a mobile self-organizing network formed by aircraft clusters for asynchronous relay, dividing the large volume of data to be transmitted into several information packets with metadata. Then, the network controller coordinates other normally flying aircraft in the airspace surrounding the emergency aircraft, organizing the onboard storage space and communication capabilities of these aircraft into a distributed airborne store-and-forward network. The emergency aircraft first uses short-range inter-aircraft communication links to send data packets to one or more nearby aircraft. These aircraft, acting as mobile "data messengers," asynchronously forward the buffered data packets when they enter the coverage area of ​​other satellites or ground base stations during subsequent flights, ultimately transmitting them back to the ground network via multi-hop relay. This approach makes full use of available storage and communication resources in the air, ensuring that important data is eventually transmitted back even without a continuous end-to-end connection.

[0053] Example 2 Based on Example 1, this example focuses on the actual implementation of its spaceborne network formation method, especially... Figure 3 The different communication scenarios during takeoff, cruise, and landing phases are illustrated and explained exemplarily. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the airborne network networking method is executed by an airborne network networking system; the airborne network networking system includes a flight planning and network control center, a civil aircraft carrying communication payloads, a low-Earth orbit satellite constellation, and ground base stations; wherein, the flight planning and network control center is used to perform the decision-making and coordination functions in steps S1, S2, S3, and S5, and to interact with the civil aircraft, the low-Earth orbit satellite constellation, and the ground base stations to perform resource allocation and path control.

[0054] In this embodiment, the method implements link relay during the takeoff phase. When the aircraft is taxiing on the runway, it accesses the network through a ground base station. After takeoff, during the climb, it actively scans and connects to predetermined low-orbit satellites according to a pre-planned strategy. It controls the ground link and satellite link to coexist for a period of time and transmit data in both directions to ensure that the satellite link is stably established before the aircraft flies out of the coverage area of ​​the ground base station.

[0055] During this process, while the aircraft is taxiing on the airport runway and waiting for takeoff, it is within the dense coverage area of ​​ground base stations, accessing the terrestrial 6G network with ample bandwidth and low latency. When the aircraft takes off and enters the climb phase, according to a pre-determined strategy, its onboard 6G communication payload actively scans and attempts to connect to the first pre-calculated low-Earth orbit satellite serving it. Simultaneously, as long as the ground link signal quality is acceptable, the system maintains the ground link connection, entering a dual-link parallel transmission mode. Flight control data and location information uploaded by the aircraft are transmitted simultaneously through both ground base stations and satellite paths. Thus, even if the ground signal fluctuates during climb due to building obstruction or increased distance, the satellite link, as a backup, can immediately carry out services, and the application layer will not perceive any interruption. As the aircraft continues to climb, the ground link signal eventually weakens to unusable levels. By this time, the satellite link has already been established and stabilized. The system, according to its strategy, completely switches the service flow to the satellite link and releases ground link resources. This process ensures a smooth and seamless communication relay from the ground to the air.

[0056] In this embodiment, the method enables link relay during the cruise phase. When the aircraft is cruising, it accesses the network via space-based satellites. According to a pre-planned strategy, it actively scans and connects to predetermined low-orbit satellites within the area. This ensures that the accessed communication terminals stably establish communication links during the cruise phase.

[0057] During this process, for vast ocean areas or remote land areas where ground networks cannot provide coverage, aircraft primarily rely on low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations to provide continuous network service. Due to the high-speed movement of LEO satellites relative to the ground, the continuous visibility time between the aircraft and a single satellite is limited, typically ranging from several minutes to tens of minutes. Therefore, multiple inter-satellite handovers are required during the cruise phase. This embodiment also follows the principles of pre-planning and active handover during this phase. Based on the aircraft's flight plan and satellite ephemeris, the control center pre-calculates an optimal satellite handover sequence and timing along the cruise route. According to this sequence, the onboard 6G communication payload, while the quality of the current serving satellite link is still good, begins scanning and attempting to connect to the next designated satellite, preparing for parallel dual-satellite transmission and smooth handover. This method avoids communication interruptions caused by waiting for the current satellite link to deteriorate to unusable levels before searching for a new satellite, ensuring stable and continuous broadband data service for the cabin and cockpit communication terminals throughout the several-hour cruise phase, guaranteeing full-fledged communication coverage.

[0058] In this embodiment, the method implements link relay during the landing phase. When the aircraft begins to descend, the connection procedure with the ground base station at the destination airport is initiated. The switching instruction is received through the satellite link to establish a radio context with the ground base station in advance. During the approach, the data stream is gradually switched from the satellite link to the ground link.

[0059] During this process, as the aircraft begins its descent from cruising altitude to prepare for landing, the network pre-planning algorithm has already selected the optimal ground base station or cluster of base stations at the destination airport. The aircraft receives handover instructions and access parameters from the target base station via the currently serving satellite link. Subsequently, the aircraft initiates the connection procedure with the target ground base station, performing signaling interaction and context establishment in advance, but the data flow at this stage is primarily still on the satellite link. As the aircraft descends and gradually enters the coverage area of ​​the ground base station, the signal quality and available bandwidth of the ground link improve. The system does not perform a one-time handover during approach; instead, it gradually migrates the data flow from the satellite link to the ground link. For example, background download services, which are least sensitive to latency, can be switched to the ground link first, followed by services with high real-time requirements. Ultimately, before touchdown, all services have smoothly transitioned to the high-performance ground network. This gradual handover avoids any risks that might arise from a sudden communication switch during the most critical phase of landing, ensuring continuity of communication from cruising to ground.

Claims

1. A method for building an airborne network based on dynamic flight plans of civil aircraft, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S1. Acquire dynamic flight plan data of civil aircraft and fuse it with real-time status data of space-based network nodes and ground-based network nodes to generate fused network situation information; S2. Based on the fused network situational information, pre-plan the end-to-end communication path for the civil aircraft throughout its flight, and pre-allocate communication resources to relevant network nodes according to the end-to-end communication path; S3. Monitor the actual flight status of the civil aircraft in real time. When the deviation between the actual flight status and the dynamic flight plan data exceeds a preset threshold, trigger and execute the replanning and resource reallocation of the affected communication path. S4. During the phase transition of the flight of the civil aircraft, the civil aircraft controls its communication equipment to maintain parallel communication links with the current service network node and the next target network node at the same time, and completes the switching of service flow between the parallel communication links according to the preset switching strategy. S5. When an operational anomaly is detected in the civil aircraft, a data migration strategy is decided and executed to migrate the communication services carried on board to other network nodes based on the attributes of the communication services carried on board.

2. The space-based network formation method according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S1, the fused network situation information is generated by fusing the dynamic flight plan data of the civil aircraft, the real-time orbit and link status data of the space-based network nodes, and the real-time topology and load status data of the ground-based network nodes; wherein, the space-based network nodes include low-Earth orbit satellites.

3. The space-based network formation method according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S2, when pre-planning the end-to-end communication path for the civil aircraft, the calculation is performed with the end-to-end latency of the communication service and the network link utilization rate as joint optimization objectives; and, communication resources are pre-allocated to relevant network nodes according to the end-to-end communication path, including converting the path policy into network control signaling and sending it in advance to relevant satellites, ground gateways and the airborne communication equipment of the civil aircraft.

4. The space-based network formation method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Step S3 specifically includes: establishing real-time monitoring of the actual flight trajectory of the civil aircraft and comparing it with the dynamic flight plan data; when the deviation is detected to exceed the preset threshold, assessing the impact range of the deviation on the pre-planned communication path; based on the assessment result of the impact range, deciding to perform local path adjustment or trigger a global re-optimization process, and recalculating the affected communication path based on the latest network status, and incrementally updating the resource configuration of relevant network nodes.

5. The space-based network formation method according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S4, the parallel communication links maintained during the phase transition are used for parallel data transmission within a preset switching time window; and during the parallel transmission, a data packet-level synchronization mechanism is adopted to maintain the consistency of the same service data transmitted through different parallel communication links.

6. The space-based network formation method according to claim 5, characterized in that: Based on the preset switching strategy, the signal quality, transmission latency, latency jitter, and service type requirements of the target network node link are comprehensively evaluated. When the comprehensive evaluation result of the target network node link is consistently better than that of the current service network node link, and the degree of superiority exceeds a preset threshold, the service flow is finally switched from the current service network node link to the target network node link, and the original current service network node link is dismantled after the switch is completed.

7. The space-based network formation method according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S5, a decision is made based on the attributes of the communication service being carried, including the service priority and data type; the decision on the data migration strategy is based on the urgency assessment of the relevant events corresponding to the operational anomaly and the real-time status of available network node resources in the surrounding area.

8. The space-based network formation method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The data migration strategy includes at least one of the following: For real-time session-based services, a session context migration paradigm is adopted to quickly migrate the communication session to the selected optimal nearest aircraft or satellite link. For non-real-time, high-capacity data services, an airborne latency-tolerant network paradigm is adopted. After the data is segmented, it is asynchronously stored-and-forwarded through opportunistic links composed of multiple surrounding aircraft.

9. The space-based network formation method according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that: The civil aircraft is equipped with a 6G communication payload, which acts as an airborne mobile base station, accesses the integrated air-space-ground network composed of the space-based network nodes and the ground-based network nodes, and coordinates with the integrated air-space-ground network based on the dynamic flight plan data.

10. The space-based network formation method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The method is executed by an airborne network system; the airborne network system includes a flight planning and network control center, a civil aircraft carrying communication payloads, a low-Earth orbit satellite constellation, and ground base stations; wherein, the flight planning and network control center is used to perform decision-making and coordination functions in steps S1, S2, S3, and S5, and to interact with the civil aircraft, the low-Earth orbit satellite constellation, and the ground base stations to perform resource allocation and path control.

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