Hybrid MAC Protocol with Integrated Multi-Layered Security for Resource-Constrained UAV Swarm Communications
Dhrumil Bhatt, Siddharth Penumatsa, Vidushi Kumar
TL;DR
The paper tackles secure, high-performance UAV swarm communications in FANETs under resource constraints. It integrates a Dynamic Weighted Clustering Protocol, a SC-HybridMAC, and a two-layer security model (cryptographic authentication plus a Beta Reputation System) and validates them in NS-3 with realistic mobility, channels, and energy models. Key contributions include a locally computed CH election score $S_i = w_T T_i + w_E E_i + w_C C_i$, a cross-layer MAC design balancing CSMA/CA and TDMA, and a time-decayed trust mechanism $E[T_j] = \frac{\alpha}{\alpha + \beta}$ with decay $e^{-\lambda \Delta t}$ to mitigate misbehaving nodes; results show improved PDR, lower latency, and reduced overhead compared to AODV, ICRA, and WCA, with real-time malicious-node detection. The proposed framework demonstrates scalable, hardware-feasible security and performance improvements for UAV swarms, offering a solid foundation for future field deployments and enhancements such as IDS integration and federated decision-making.
Abstract
Flying Ad Hoc Networks (FANETs) present unique challenges due to high node mobility, dynamic topologies, and strict resource constraints. Existing routing protocols often optimize for a single metric, such as path length or energy, while neglecting the complex dependencies between network performance, security, and MAC layer efficiency. This paper introduces a novel hardware software co design framework for secure and adaptive UAV swarm communications, featuring an energy aware protocol stack. The architecture employs a multicast, clustered organization where routing decisions integrate dynamic trust scores, historical link quality, and internodal distance. A hybrid MAC protocol combines contention based and scheduled channel access for optimized throughput. Security is ensured through a zero trust model that fuses cryptographic authentication with a behavioral reputation system, alongside hardware accelerated AES GCM encryption. Comparative analysis in an NS 3 simulation environment demonstrates the framework's superiority in packet delivery ratio, latency, resilience, and overhead, providing a scalable foundation for high performance swarm operations.