Permissioned Blockchain in Advanced Air Mobility: A Performance Analysis for UTM

TL;DR

This paper tackles the challenge of achieving real-time, regulation-compliant coordination for UTM in dense low-altitude airspace. It benchmarks two distributed architectures—the federated InterUSS Platform and a Hyperledger Fabric-based permissioned ledger—using OIR registration workloads up to 50 TPS and Caliper-based measurements of throughput, latency, and loss. The study finds that InterUSS maintains sub-second latency up to 30 TPS with stable tails, while Fabric experiences exponential latency growth and high tail latency beyond that point, saturating near 50 TPS. The authors argue for hybrid models that couple distributed ledgers for auditability with federated real-time coordination to meet aeronautical timing and scalability requirements, guiding future UTM deployments.

Abstract

The integration of Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) into low-altitude airspace has led authorities to adopt distributed Uncrewed Traffic Management (UTM) architectures that ensure interoperability and safety. Blockchain has been proposed as an enabler for trustworthy coordination among UTM stakeholders. Yet, its real-time performance under aeronautical constraints remains insufficiently characterized. This paper presentes a quantitative benchmark comparing two regulation compliant distributed architectures: the federated InterUSS platform maintained by the Linux Foundation and a permissioned blockchain based on Hyperledger Fabric. Both systems were evaluated through Operational Intent Reference (OIR) registration work loads generated via Hyperledger Caliper, measuring throughput, latency, and transaction loss under loads up to 50 transactions per second. Results show that InterUSS sustained sub-second latency and stable performance up to 30 TPS. At the same time, Fabric exhibited exponential degradation with median latency exceeding 3 s and tail latencies above 15 s beyond that point. These findings demonstrate that blockchain-based architectures must be redesigned to meet aeronautical timing and scalability requirements, suggesting that hybrid models combining distributed ledgers for auditability with federated frameworks for real-time coordination are more suitable for future UTM deployments.

Figures (5)

• Figure 1: Data Interoperability Environment
• Figure 2: Architecture of the environment used in the experiments.
• Figure 3: Partial view of the RNP’s Rede Ipê backbone infrastructure, showing links with capacities ranging from 10 to 300 Gb/s. Benchmark tests were executed remotely over this infrastructure, involving servers distributed across different Brazilian states separated by approximately 2500 km (https://redeipe.rnp.br).
• Figure 4: Comparative performance of Hyperledger Fabric and InterUSS platforms under increasing workload (10–50 TPS). InterUSS maintains sub-second latency up to 30 TPS, while Fabric shows exponential degradation and higher p90 dispersion. Both systems saturate around 50 TPS, with Fabric showing greater throughput loss.
• Figure 5: Distribution of average latency by platform under filtered TPS conditions (log10 scale). Fabric shows higher latency dispersion and longer tails, while InterUSS maintains tighter and lower latency ranges.