A performance study of UAV-based sensor networks under cyber attack

In UAV-based sensor networks, an emerging area of interest is their performance under cyber attack. This study evaluates the trade-offs from a System-of-Systems (SoS) perspective between various UAV communications architecture options for the purpose of tracking ballistic missiles. An agent-based discrete event simulation is used to model a sensor communication network consisting of UAVs, military communications satellites, ground relay stations, and a mission control center. Network susceptibility to cyber attack is modeled with probabilistic failures and induced data variability, with performance metrics focusing on information availability, latency, and trustworthiness. Results demonstrated that using UAVs as routers increased SoS availability and satellite-based networks were best for long distance operations. Redundancy in the number of links between nodes helped mitigate cyber-caused link failures and add robustness in cases of induced data variability. Sensitivity studies indicated that long cyber-caused downtimes resulted in build-ups of failures, causing significant degradations in SoS performance.