A Chain-Based Optimized Blockchain Consensus Protocol for UAV Ad Hoc Networks

The integration of blockchain technology with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) offers considerable potential, enhancing cybersecurity and driving innovation within the UAV industry. However, due to the dynamic nature of UAVs and limited resources, existing blockchain consensus technologies cannot be directly applied to UAVs. To this end, we propose a chainbased optimized blockchain consensus protocol designed for UAV ad hoc networks, which employs the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm to optimize chain consensus. We design several sub-protocols to cope with malicious nodes in the UAV network, node changes during UAV missions, topology changes. Numerical results show that our protocol increases throughput, reduces communication overhead, and enhances operation efficiency in UAV networks.