Performance analysis for multi-user integrated satellite and UAV cooperative networks

Satellite and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) communications are the two most promising technologies for providing seamless connectivity to mobile users. In this paper, we investigate the performance of a multi-antenna multi-user integrated satellite and UAV cooperative network (ISUCN). Specifically, by taking many practical parameters, such as antenna pattern and path loss into account, we first obtain the maximal output signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) expression for the ISUCN, where multi-antenna UAV is employed as an aerial relay with threshold-based amplify-and-forward (AF) protocol to assist signal transmission between satellite and multiple ground users. Then, based on the commonly used assumption that the satellite link undergoes Shadowed-Rician fading while the terrestrial links experience Nakagami-m fading, we derive an analytical expression for the outage probability (OP) of the considered network. Furthermore, the asymptotical OP expression in high SNR regime is developed to evaluate the achievable coding gain and diversity order conveniently. Finally, numerical results are given to confirm the validity of the theoretical formulas and reveal the effects of representative parameters on the system performance. Our works provide useful guidelines for the engineers in the designing ISUCNs for futuristic satellite mobile communication systems. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.