Hyperspeed Mobility and Security Capabilities for Next Generation Airborne Networks

ABSTRACT: Emerging advanced airborne nodes such as sixth generation fighters pose new challenges to the airborne network. Sixth generation fighters and bombers are envisioned to be capable of traveling at Mach 3 or higher speed and thus the duration of contact between neighboring airborne nodes may be extremely short (e.g., a few seconds). Such hyperspeed mobility combined with complex operational environments consisting of contested Radio Frequency (RF) communication and cyber intrusions (e.g., smart jamming), existing mobile ad hoc routing protocols may fail to provide secure and reliable connectivity due to the overhead and the delay of the authentication and route discovery processes. IAI proposes to develop hyperspeed mobile and security capabilities (HyperMSC) suitable for next generation airborne networks. HyperMSC will provide proactive handover, expedited authentication, and DoS mitigation while reducing the network overhead, the delay, and the pre-planning requirements of next generation networks. BENEFIT: The hyperspeed mobility and security capabilities in the proposed work can be applied in many different networks, e.g., airborne networks, other tactical networks, mobile ad hoc networks, cellular networks, and vehicular networks. Our initial focus on commercialization will be to transition the hyperspeed mobility and security capabilities to relevant DOD programs, with 6th generation fighter/bomber programs being a particular area of focus. The Air Force currently requires a minimum inventory of 2,250 fighter jets and by 2030 necessary retirement of older jets requires the timely development and production of significant numbers of 6th generation aircraft. The proposed framework, protocols, algorithms, and the developed HyperMSC solutions can be applied to various major programs like Airborne Networks, the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program, JTRS, etc. Beyond DoD programs, we also plan to transition the technology to commercial applications. Many applications ranging from cellular communications, emergency networks, vehicular networks, and various consumer services experience significant topology dynamics.