Patent ID: 7969346

Claim:
A transponder-based beacon transmitter system in an unmanned aerial vehicle, the transponder-based beacon transmitter system comprising: a global positioning system interface communicatively coupled to receive position information indicative of a current location of the unmanned aerial vehicle; a message formatter communicatively coupled to the global positioning system interface, the message formatter operable to format vehicle identification of the unmanned aerial vehicle and to format the position information indicative of the current location of the unmanned aerial vehicle into an automatic dependent surveillance broadcast mode-select squitter message, wherein the message formatter operates in a combined military/National Airspace System mode; and a transponder-based beacon transmitter operable to transmit the automatic dependent surveillance broadcast mode-select squitter messages from the unmanned aerial vehicle, wherein receivers in the vicinity of the unmanned aerial vehicle receive unsolicited vehicle identification of the unmanned aerial vehicle and position information indicative of the current location of the unmanned aerial vehicle.