From consumer quadcopters to industrial and defense platforms, drones depend on reliable wireless links for control, telemetry, video, and data transmission. But different applications place very different demands on drone communications and RF front-end design.

In this QuickChat, David Maliniak from Microwaves & RF speaks with Jeff Gengler, Director of Applications Engineering at Qorvo, about the technologies shaping modern drone connectivity. Gengler explains how consumer drones typically rely on Wi-Fi and other unlicensed bands, while delivery drones can leverage 4G and 5G cellular networks. Industrial and defense applications introduce additional challenges, including longer range, channel resiliency, and operation across frequencies from UHF through millimeter wave.

The conversation also explores software-defined radio (SDR) architectures and the tradeoffs between flexibility, cost, power consumption, efficiency, and size. Gengler discusses wideband versus narrowband power amplifiers, GaAs and GaN technologies, low-noise amplifiers, filter banks, and BAW filters. He also explains why sub-6 GHz communications remain attractive for extending drone range.

Watch the full QuickChat to learn how RF technology can help engineers balance performance, flexibility, and SWaP requirements in evolving drone communication systems.