MSCA-AeroNet

The integration of terrestrial networks (TN) and non-terrestrial networks (NTN) is a key step toward providing reliable, secure, and ubiquitous connectivity with clear quality of service (QoS) guarantees. Native TN/NTN integration will enable use cases such as in-flight broadband connectivity (IFBC) and mission-critical operations. Although 3GPP has begun publishing normative requirements for TN/NTN integration, several technical challenges remain. Aircraft antenna design must improve to reduce drag while ensuring robust connectivity across LEO, MEO, and GEO satellites as well as TN. Equally, handover procedures in multi-RAT environments require proactive and optimised solutions to minimise control overhead, reduce interference, and maintain end-user QoS. To address these challenges, we propose an architecture where aircraft and satellites act as mobile wireless access and backhaul (WAB) nodes, while also hosting multi-access edge computing (MEC) for latency-sensitive services. This architecture enables flexible deployment scenarios but necessitates advanced self- organizing networks (SON) and network optimization technologies.