Secure transmission of an aircraft trajectory

A computer-implemented method of encrypting a description of an aircraft trajectory, comprising:

• obtaining a ground-referenced description of the trajectory of the aircraft expressed in ground-referenced parameters;
• obtaining a description of an imaginary atmospheric model describing imaginary atmospheric conditions along the trajectory;
• and
• using the description of the imaginary atmospheric model to encrypt the ground-referenced description of the aircraft trajectory by converting the ground-referenced description of the aircraft trajectory into an air-referenced description of the aircraft trajectory expressed in air-referenced parameters with respect to the imaginary atmospheric model.

A computer program product having stored thereon a computer program for encrypting a description of an aircraft trajectory, that when executed on a computer system, will cause the computer system to:

• obtain a ground-referenced description of the trajectory of the aircraft expressed in ground-referenced parameters;
• obtain a description of an imaginary atmospheric model describing imaginary atmospheric conditions along the trajectory;
• and
• use the description of the imaginary atmospheric model to encrypt the ground-referenced description of the aircraft trajectory by converting the ground-referenced description of the aircraft trajectory into an air-referenced description of the aircraft trajectory expressed in air-referenced parameters with respect to the imaginary atmospheric model.

A computer infrastructure operable to communicate securely an aircraft trajectory using encryption and decryption of a description of the aircraft trajectory, comprising an encryption computer system and a decryption computer system, wherein

• the encryption computer system comprises:
• memory operable to store a ground-referenced description of the trajectory of the aircraft expressed in ground-referenced parameters;
• memory operable to store a description of an imaginary atmospheric model describing imaginary atmospheric conditions along the trajectory;
• an encryption processor programmed to use the description of the imaginary atmospheric model to encrypt the ground-referenced description of the aircraft trajectory by converting the ground-referenced description of the aircraft trajectory into an air-referenced description of the aircraft trajectory expressed in air-referenced parameters with respect to the imaginary atmospheric model, and to make available to the decryption computer system the description of the imaginary atmospheric conditions and air-referenced data from which the aircraft trajectory may be unambiguously determined;
• and
• the decryption computer system comprises:
• a receiver operable to receive the description of the imaginary atmospheric conditions and the air-referenced data from which the aircraft trajectory may be unambiguously determined;
• memory operable to store the description of the imaginary atmospheric conditions and the air-referenced data from which the aircraft trajectory may be unambiguously determined;
• a decryption processor programmed to use the description of the imaginary atmospheric conditions to decrypt the air-referenced data from which the aircraft trajectory may be unambiguously determined by converting the air-referenced data from which the aircraft trajectory may be unambiguously determined back into the ground-referenced description of the aircraft trajectory expressed in ground-referenced parameters.

A computer system operable to encrypt a description of an aircraft trajectory, comprising:

• memory operable to store a ground-referenced description of the trajectory of the aircraft expressed in ground-referenced parameters;
• memory operable to store a description of an imaginary atmospheric model describing imaginary atmospheric conditions along the trajectory;
• and
• a processor programmed to use the description of the imaginary atmospheric model to encrypt the ground-referenced description of the aircraft trajectory by converting the ground-referenced description of the aircraft trajectory into an air-referenced description of the aircraft trajectory expressed in air-referenced parameters with respect to the imaginary atmospheric model.