Joint trajectory and beamforming optimization for IRS-assisted multi-antenna UAV covert communications with a finite blocklength

Author Identifier (ORCID)

Shihao Yan: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4586-1926

Abstract

A novel intelligent reflecting surface (IRS)-assisted multi-antenna unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) covert communication (IRS-UAVCC) with a finite blocklength is studied, in which the IRS is exploited to enhance the covert transmission capability of moving multi-antenna UAV and weaken the detection capability of a warden. Our goal is to maximize the UAV covert transmission rate by jointly optimizing the multi-antenna UAV’s trajectory (UAVTR) and transmit beamforming (UAVTB), and the IRS’s phase shift matrix (PSM). To tackle this non-convex problem, we decompose it into three sub-problems. Firstly, the semidefinite relaxation (SDR) technique is employed to solve the two sub-problems of UAVTB and IRS’s PSM. Secondly, by applying the successive convex approximation (SCA) technique, the non-convex multi-antenna UAVTR optimization sub-problem is reformulated into a convex one. Finally, an efficient block coordinate descent (BCD) structure is proposed to obtain a suboptimal solution for the original optimization problem. To further reduce the complexity, a low complexity penalty dual decomposition with gradient projection (PDDGP) method is developed to obtain the optimal moving multi-antenna UAVTB and the IRS’s PSM. Numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed algorithm in IRS-UAVCC with a finite blocklength.

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of Publication

1-1-2025

Publisher

IEEE

School

School of Science

RAS ID

83466

Funders

Hainan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (622RC622) / National Natural Science Foundation of China (62261019, U22A2002) / Scientific Research Fund Project of Hainan University (KYQD(ZR)-21008, KYQD(ZR)-21132)

Comments

Zhang, W., Liang, X., Deng, Q., Shu, F., Zhang, Z., Nie, L., & Yan, S. (2025). Joint trajectory and beamforming optimization for IRS-assisted multi-antenna UAV covert communications with a finite blocklength. IEEE Transactions on Green Communications and Networking. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1109/TGCN.2025.3585891

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