Variable elevation signal acquisition and data collection system and method

A variable elevation signal acquisition and data collection (VESAD) system, comprising:

• an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) including a removable payload including:
• a guidance subsystem, a data storage device, a global positioning system (GPS), an electromagnetic signal detector configured for the measurement of passive intermodulation data, an analog to digital converter, a radio frequency receiver, a radio frequency transmitter, at least one antenna and a signal processing subsystem in operable communication with each other, and operable to collect cellular radio frequency measurements about a cell tower at varying heights, convert the cellular radio frequency measurements to a digital signal representative of the cellular radio frequency measurements;
• a ground control station configured to exercise positive wireless control over the UAV via the at least one antenna and guidance subsystem and including a passive intermodulation measurement analyzer to process the cellular radio frequency measurements received from the UAV;
• and
• a communications link between the UAV and the ground control station configured to receive a radio frequency signal transmitting the digital signal representative of the cellular radio frequency measurements from the UAV, wherein the passive intermodulation analyzer processes the digital signal representative of the cellular radio frequency measurements, and alters a measurement pattern flight plan of the UAV, based on analysis of the digital signal representative of the cellular radio frequency measurements processed by the passive intermodulation analyzer.