Modulating Retroreflector-Aided UAV-Based FSO/QKD Systems
Abstract
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)-based free-space optics (FSO)/quantum key distribution (QKD) systems require high-precision pointing mechanisms. This increases system complexity and limits rapid deployment for lightweight and energy-constrained UAVs. This paper proposes a modulating retroreflector (MRR)-equipped UAV architecture for BB84-QKD systems that enables simplified yet accurate tracking while relaxing pointing requirements. A realistic quantum channel model is developed, for which we newly derive the channel probability distribution of transmittance (PDT). Capitalizing on the derived channel PDT, several QKD performance metrics are analytically obtained. Numerical results verify the feasibility of the proposed MRR-aided UAV for practical QKD deployment, highlight its effectiveness over conventional UAV-ground systems, and validate the accuracy of the developed analytical framework.
Versions
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BibTeX
@misc{luong2026modulating,
title = {{Modulating Retroreflector-Aided UAV-Based FSO/QKD Systems}},
author = {Duy N. Luong and Duy-Tuan Dao and Cuong T. Nguyen and Hoang D. Le and Anh T. Pham},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.25928},
eprint = {2609.25928},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.25928},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Modulating Retroreflector-Aided UAV-Based FSO/QKD Systems
AU - Duy N. Luong
AU - Duy-Tuan Dao
AU - Cuong T. Nguyen
AU - Hoang D. Le
AU - Anh T. Pham
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/22
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.25928
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.25928
AB - Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)-based free-space optics (FSO)/quantum key distribution (QKD) systems require high-precision pointing mechanisms. This increases system complexity and limits rapid deployment for lightweight and energy-constrained UAVs. This paper proposes a modulating retroreflector (MRR)-equipped UAV architecture for BB84-QKD systems that enables simplified yet accurate tracking while relaxing pointing requirements. A realistic quantum channel model is developed, for which we newly derive the channel probability distribution of transmittance (PDT). Capitalizing on the derived channel PDT, several QKD performance metrics are analytically obtained. Numerical results verify the feasibility of the proposed MRR-aided UAV for practical QKD deployment, highlight its effectiveness over conventional UAV-ground systems, and validate the accuracy of the developed analytical framework.
ER -