RF Communication Degradation for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in CBRN Threat Environments: A Systematic Mapping Study

Abstract

Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) environments interfere with wireless communication systems because of extreme physical conditions such as dense aerosol structures and abrupt environmental changes and electromagnetic anomalies. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), which play a critical role in high-risk operations and disaster management, rely on radio-frequency (RF) infrastructure to maintain mission continuity. However, ionizing radiation, dense aerosol structures, and abrupt environmental changes in CBRN scenarios lead to severe attenuation, scattering, phase distortion, and increased noise in RF signals, threatening communication reliability. This study aims to systematically map the literature on the impacts of CBRN environments on RF signal propagation and UAV communications. A systematic search was conducted across international academic databases using predefined keywords. Qualitative and thematic analysis were used to group the chosen publications. MAXQDA software was used to analyze the literature and highlight dominant themes and parameters. The findings show that while many resources address environmental signal degradation, they often discuss the impacts of CBRN conditions indirectly. This study provides a conceptual framework and methodological foundation for future research. It reveals gaps and trends in the current literature to support the development of resilient UAV communication architectures in CBRN environments.