Analysis of Spectrum Allocation to Support Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks in Contested Environments

Military forces are currently developing and fielding mobile ad-hoc network (MANET) radios capable of connecting highly mobile units operating on rugged terrain over long distances. While these radios offer considerable capabilities, including high data rates and automatic traffic relay, they are susceptible to incidental interference from friendly and civilian forces, and the actions of increasingly sophisticated adversaries intent on contesting use of the electromagnetic spectrum. We develop our previous method of efficiently allocating spectrum to now analyze the operation of multiple, independent MANETs in the presence of accidental interference or purposeful jamming. We describe in detail the results of jamming analysis using a realistic data set from a large U.S. Marine Corps combat scenario, and provide observations on the robustness of our optimized channel allocation solutions. We also outline our future research plan for considering adversarial actions using a game-theoretic approach.