Computation of the key parameters of radio signals propagating through a perturbed ionosphere in the land-satellite channel

An analysis of the key parameters of HF/UHF radio signals was carried out for land-satellite radio channels, which determine the effects of fading in a perturbed ionosphere. Using the parameters of the perturbed plasma, the effects of the absorption and phase fluctuations of radio signals are analyzed for a channel with fading. For the evaluation of the effect of scattering of a radio signal by ionospheric inhomogeneities in an approximation of small-scale scintillations, expressions for the root-mean-square (RMS) magnitude of signal intensity and phase scintillations are presented. Scintillation index σ_I² that corresponds to variations in a signal under the conditions of multipath propagation with fading is investigated by using experimental data. It is shown that roughly ~10% of inhomogeneities of the electron concentration in the F region of the ionosphere, perturbed during a magnetic storm, yield strong quickly fading radio signals in the VHF/UHF range with significant fluctuations (up to 1%) in the intensity of the signal and phase fluctuations (up to hundreds of radians). The calculated magnitudes of the scintillation index are in good agreement with experimentally observed data.