Communications-Aware NMPC for Multi-Rotor Aerial Relay Networks Under Jamming Interference

Abstract

Multi-Rotor Aerial Vehicles (MRAVs) are increasingly used in communication-dependent missions where connectivity loss directly compromises task execution. Existing anti-jamming strategies often decouple motion from communication, overlooking that link quality depends on vehicle attitude and antenna orientation. In coplanar platforms, "tilt-to-translate" maneuvers can inadvertently align antenna nulls with communication partners, causing severe degradation under interference. This paper presents a modular communications-aware control framework that combines a high-level max-min trajectory generator with an actuator-level Nonlinear Model Predictive Controller (NMPC). The trajectory layer optimizes the weakest link under jamming, while the NMPC enforces vehicle dynamics, actuator limits, and antenna-alignment constraints. Antenna directionality is handled geometrically, avoiding explicit radiation-pattern parametrization. The method is evaluated in a relay scenario with an active jammer and compared across coplanar and tilted-propeller architectures. Results show a near two-order-of-magnitude increase in minimum end-to-end capacity, markedly reducing outage events, with moderate average-capacity gains. Tilted platforms preserve feasibility and link quality, whereas coplanar vehicles show recurrent degradation. These findings indicate that full actuation is a key enabler of reliable communications-aware operation under adversarial directional constraints.

Figures (13)

• Figure 1: Illustration of adversarial threats including eavesdropping and jamming attacks.
• Figure 2: Schematic of MRAV-1 serving as a communication relay between MRAV-2 and a ground BS under jamming interference. The diagram illustrates the body reference frames $\pazocal{F}_{B_1} = \{O_{B_1}, \mathsf{x}_{B_1}, \mathsf{y}_{B_1}, \mathsf{z}_{B_1}\}$ and $\pazocal{F}_{B_2} = \{O_{B_2}, \mathsf{x}_{B_2}, \mathsf{y}_{B_2}, \mathsf{z}_{B_2}\}$, along with the world reference frame $\pazocal{F}_W = \{O_{W}, \mathsf{x}_{W}, \mathsf{y}_{W}, \mathsf{z}_{W}\}$.
• Figure 3: Normalized radiation pattern of a half-wave dipole antenna mounted along the body-frame $\mathsf{z}_B$-axis. (a) MRAV-1 aligned with the maximum-gain region in the equatorial plane. (b) MRAV-1 tilted by an angle $\chi$, resulting in reduced gain. Colors indicate the normalized antenna gain.
• Figure 4: Schematic representation of an GTMR system with its world $\pazocal{F}_W$ and body $\pazocal{F}_B$ reference frames.
• Figure 5: Simulation overview showing the relay (MRAV-1, yellow), the source (MRAV-2, purple), the ground BS (black dot), and the jammer (red dot). Arrows indicate the motion direction.