A Survey on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) Communications: State-of-the-Art, Existing Standards and Future Directions

Fabrizio Granelli; Yan-Ping Lu; Qingqing Wu; Zhenhui Yuan; Aly Sabri Abdalla; Vuk Marojevic; Yifan Jiang; Fatemeh Afghah; Giovanni Geraci; Anandarup Mukherjee; Sabur Baidya; Giovanni Grieco; Abid Yaqoob; Muhammad Abul Hassan; Kamesh R. Namuduri; Ranga Rao Venkatesha Prasad; Laaziz Lahlou; John Sengendo; Gabriel‐Miro Muntean

doi:10.1109/ojcoms.2026.3675046

Journal article · 1 January 2026

A Survey on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) Communications: State-of-the-Art, Existing Standards and Future Directions

Fabrizio Granelli, Yan-Ping Lu, Qingqing Wu, Zhenhui Yuan, Aly Sabri Abdalla, Vuk Marojevic, Yifan Jiang, Fatemeh Afghah, Giovanni Geraci, Anandarup Mukherjee, Sabur Baidya, Giovanni Grieco, Abid Yaqoob, Muhammad Abul Hassan, Kamesh R. Namuduri, Ranga Rao Venkatesha Prasad, Laaziz Lahlou, John Sengendo, Gabriel‐Miro Muntean

Abstract

With a diverse range of applications in both private and public sector, the market value of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) skyrocketed to 17.31 billion USD in 2024 and is expected to reach 32.95 billion USD by 2030. 3GPP considered UAVs in Release 15 and will include them in Release 18 as part of the 5G-Advanced technology. To provide smooth and safe inclusion in the current airspace, fast and reliable communications between UAVs and between ground base stations and UAVs are needed. Several research studies have been conducted, but there is no comprehensive picture of their advancements in terms of wireless communications and networking for UAVs. This survey paper provides detailed information on the current status of UAV communications and networking, including important aspects such as architectural solutions, protocols and design options related to spectrum management, resource optimization and security requirements. Efforts related to standardization and integration with different applications are also covered. The survey will help researchers and practitioners in the field of wireless communications, UAV service provision and telecommunications learn about the current state of the art and open the door to future research and development avenues in their fields.

Cite this work

@article{granelli2026survey,
  title = {{A Survey on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) Communications: State-of-the-Art, Existing Standards and Future Directions}},
  author = {Fabrizio Granelli and Yan-Ping Lu and Qingqing Wu and Zhenhui Yuan and Aly Sabri Abdalla and Vuk Marojevic and Yifan Jiang and Fatemeh Afghah and Giovanni Geraci and Anandarup Mukherjee and Sabur Baidya and Giovanni Grieco and Abid Yaqoob and Muhammad Abul Hassan and Kamesh R. Namuduri and Ranga Rao Venkatesha Prasad and Laaziz Lahlou and John Sengendo and Gabriel‐Miro Muntean},
  journal = {IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1109/ojcoms.2026.3675046},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1109/ojcoms.2026.3675046}
}