Ground Control and Mission Planning
Open components for mission planning, telemetry and ground control around MAVLink-based vehicles.
Last reviewed 8/7/2026. Data checked within the review cycle.
Review cycles are documented on the Methodology page.
5 indexed resources · Reviewed 8/7/2026
Problem statement
Which open ground control and mission planning components should I start with for a MAVLink-based UAV?
Audience and prerequisites
Mission planners and integration engineers
Layered technology path
Ground control station
Mission planning, telemetry and vehicle control interface.
Required
Selection: Reference ground station in the MAVLink ecosystem
Telemetry protocol
Protocol layer carrying mission and telemetry data.
Required
Selection: Official protocol repository
Flight stacks
Autopilot stacks that execute planned missions.
Required
Selection: Editorial review of official documentation
Mission simulation
Simulator for validating missions before flight.
Optional
Selection: Official simulation documentation
Validation sequence
- Plan a simple mission in the ground station against a SITL vehicle.
- Upload and monitor the mission through the telemetry link.
- Validate behavior against official flight stack documentation.
Known boundaries
- Mission features differ between ground stations and firmware versions.
- A planned mission in simulation is not flight clearance.