Energy and security analysis of an radio frequency energy harvesting UAV‐NOMA MEC network with a passive eavesdropper

Abstract This paper explores a radio frequency (RF) energy harvesting nonorthogonal multiple access (NOMA)‐assisted mobile edge computing (MEC) network, consisting of a legitimate unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), an eavesdropping UAV, and two computing access points (APs) associated with an MEC server. Additionally, one AP is hybrid and provides the UAV with a RF power supply. The NOMA technique enables data offloading to APs over the Nakagami‐ fading channel under imperfect successive interference cancellation conditions. A four‐phase protocol is proposed to meet MEC requirements in terms of latency, security, and energy efficiency. Two key performance indicators are introduced: (i) the naive upper bound of the approximated successful secrecy computation probability and (ii) the naive lower bound of the approximated energy outage probability. Based on analytical and simulation results, a multi‐objective optimization algorithm is applied to determine the system's optimal operating point via the time‐switching ratio, power‐allocation coefficient, and UAV altitude. Monte Carlo simulations validate the theoretical analysis for various system parameters.