On the Role of 5G and Beyond Sidelink Communication in Multi-Hop Tactical Networks

TL;DR

This paper explores the potential of 5G sidelink communication for multi-hop tactical networks, reviewing standards, routing techniques, open-source tools, and future research directions involving RF sensing, positioning, and machine learning integration.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of 5G sidelink standards, routing methods, and emerging research directions for tactical network applications.

Findings

Review of 3GPP sidelink standardization activities

Analysis of multi-hop routing techniques for tactical networks

Discussion of future research involving RF sensing and machine learning

Abstract

This work investigates the potential of 5G and beyond sidelink (SL) communication to support multi-hop tactical networks. We first provide a technical and historical overview of 3GPP SL standardization activities, and then consider applications to current problems of interest in tactical networking. We consider a number of multi-hop routing techniques which are expected to be of interest for SL-enabled multi-hop tactical networking and examine open-source tools useful for network emulation. Finally, we discuss relevant research directions which may be of interest for 5G SL-enabled tactical communications, namely the integration of RF sensing and positioning, as well as emerging machine learning tools such as federated and decentralized learning, which may be of great interest for resource allocation and routing problems that arise in tactical applications. We conclude by summarizing recent developments in the 5G SL literature and provide guidelines for future research.