Research on Digital Twin-Oriented UAV Data Chain Communication

Abstract In this paper, for the problems of low utilization of link resources, poor flexibility, poor adaptability, and low accuracy and difficulty in verification and assessment of traditional network modelling technology in Link-16 data chain time slot allocation research, digital twin technology is introduced to combine digital twin with data chain modelling to build a digital twin-oriented data chain verification platform. And through the OPNET simulation platform, the UAV data chain simulation model of multiple terrain scenarios is established. The influence of terrain on UAV communication is explored, focusing on the irregular terrain model, including the consideration of electromagnetic wave propagation and multipath effect, and the data chain performance indexes under different terrain conditions are compared through simulation. It is found that marine terrain has a significant impact on latency and communication, while mountainous terrain results in higher latency due to complex terrain structure and vegetation cover. Digital twin oriented UAV data chain modelling is characterized by high accuracy and low latency. Therefore, the research in this paper can provide guidance for designing a more reliable and efficient Link-16 data chain communication system and provide substantial insights for military communication network planning.