A Survey on 6G Enabled Light Weight Authentication Protocol for UAVs, Security, Open Research Issues and Future Directions

This paper demonstrates a broad exploration of existing authentication and secure communication of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in a ‘6G network’. We begin with an overview of existing surveys that deal with UAV authentication in 6G and beyond communications, standardization, applications and security. In order to highlight the impact of blockchain and UAV authentication in ‘UAV networks’ in future communication systems, we categorize the groups in this review into two comprehensive groups. The first group, named the Performance Group (PG), comprises the performance-related needs on data rates, latency, reliability and massive connectivity. Meanwhile, the second group, named the Specifications Group (SG), is included in the authentication-related needs on non-reputability, data integrity and audit ability. In the 6G network, with blockchain and UAV authentication, the network decentralization and resource sharing would minimize resource under-utilization thereby facilitating PG targets. Furthermore, through an appropriate selection of blockchain type and consensus algorithms, the SG’s needs of UAV authentication in 6G network applications can also be readily addressed. In this study, the combination of blockchain and UAV authentication in 6G network emergence is reviewed as a detailed review for secure and universal future communication. Finally, we conclude on the critical identification of challenges and future research directions on the subject.