Exploring Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Communication in Maritime Environments: Challenges and Perspectives

Resumo

With the continuous advancement of embedded technologies and the growing demand for remote and autonomous operations, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been increasingly employed in a variety of maritime applications, including platform inspections, cargo transport, search and rescue missions, environmental monitoring, and open-sea surveillance. However, maintaining reliable, high- performance communication between UAVs and control stations remains one of the main operational challenges, primarily due to the lack of fixed infrastructure, the long distance from shore, and adverse and highly variable environmental conditions. This work presents an exploratory literature review, categorizing the key factors that influence communication performance: latency, data transfer rate, frequency bands (VHF, L, C, Ku, Ka), and phenomena such as signal refraction and multipath propagation over the sea. The limitations of traditional maritime communication systems, such as VHF and L-band, and their impacts when adapted to aerial missions are analyzed in detail. Emerging technologies, including Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellations, High-Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS), and hybrid architectures that integrate aerial, maritime, and satellite links, show strong potential to expand coverage and reduce latency in challenging oceanic environments. In addition, prospects for sixth-generation (6G) networks are discussed, highlighting their potential to enable ultra-responsive control, enhanced link resilience, and massive data transmissions in remote areas. Selecting the most suitable communication architecture must account for mission type, data volume, and operational context. Despite recent advances, significant gaps remain, underscoring the need for continued research and innovation to develop resilient, mission-tailored communication architectures for UAVs operating in maritime domains.