The Aeronautical Telemetry Story in the USA Figure 6. A simplified representation of the serial streaming telemetry and network links that comprise the iNET system. Ethernet as the communication backbone between instrumentation network nodes. The combination of the wireless and onboard networks is known as the Telemetry Network System (TmNS). The definition of the TmNS is standardized within the IRIG 106 standard and is illustrated in Figure 6. Work continues on the effort to realize the benefits of networking technology for AMT. MOVING FORWARD: THE FUTURE OF AERONAUTICAL TELEMETRY C C C C The questions facing the aeronautical telemetry community include the following: How will telemetry users address the growing need for real-time telemetry in a future environment of greater spectral congestion? Will there be technologies available that will mitigate adjacent and cochannel interference enabling spectrum sharing? Will the amount of AMT spectrum dedicated for the DoD and aerospace industry be further diminished by spectrum auctions? While these questions can't be answered completely now, work has begun to investigate these issues and to enable a vision of interconnectivity to foster a collaborative experimental, test, and training environment. It is quite possible that another generational leap in AMT technology will be required to satisfy these diverse needs. 56 The telemetry community is rapidly approaching another evolutionary crossroad in technology. These "Telemetry Generations" can been categorized as: C 1st Generation-Transmission of frequency modulated carriers (1960s) 2nd Generation-Transmission of digitally encoding data (PAM/PCMFM) (1970s) 3rd Generation-Transmission of serial and packet data using spectrally-efficient modulations (2000s) 4th Generation-Network-enabled wireless test article communication coupled with airborne and ground networks (2020s) 5th Generation-Collaborative experimental, test, and training in a spectrum congested environment. Each generation had a significant change in architecture from the previous, each with implementation and use challenges but with increased capabilities. Some have given this the title of "disruptive technology." While the 5th generation of telemetry will again include that same disruptive course change, like past generations before it, it must also accommodate legacy infrastructures and past generation technologies. The DoD has a substantial investment in its telemetry infrastructure throughout the Major Range IEEE A&E SYSTEMS MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2018