Security Estimation Model for Military Aircrafts Using Directional Antennas

In the real military scenarios and particularly using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) that perform aspecific communication task; it is not desirable to have an antenna that covers a wide angle. Omni directional antenna transmits power into all directions and thus it gives transmitter benefits of increasing the probability of being detected by hostile receivers. This paper addresses the problem by exploring the security advantagesof using directional antennas in the battlefield. In this respect, we considered a collection of military UAVs that communicates through a wireless link and forms a Mobile AdHoc Network (MANET) using directionalantenna. We develop a security estimation model for each UAV that is capable for calculating the probability of detecting any transmitter in its range. With this model, each UAV can determine the total area in which the probability of detecting hostile transmitter is bigger than zero. Transmission between UAVs will be established using directional antenna that is able to form a directional beam pointing to anyreceiver locatedoutside the previous area. The results of the Optimized Network Engineering Tool (OPNET) simulator indicatesan overall improvement in security level of directional transmission over Omni directional transmission.