BATTLEFIELD DIGITAL FORENSICS

adios from 10 miles to over 500 miles. 55 SkySat FM was employed as a military platform in 2007 and has since
been used in various missions. Unlike Google’s Project Loon, SkySat does not use solar panels but the battery
life is 8-12 hours. [44]
ABSOLUTE (Aerial Base Station with Opportunistic Links for Unattended and Temporary Events) is a FP7
European research project that provides a high-capacity IP mobile data network for public safety and tactical
applications. 56 The project covers the deployment options of aerial base stations, portable land units and user
equipment in a land-and-air-based communication architecture that finally maintains connectivity between
ground and satellite. The system architecture of ABSOLUTE is shown in Figure 21. Aerial eNodeB (AeNB) is the
aerial base station that provides Ka-band communication between ground and satellite. In this architecture,
this base station is located on a low-altitude platform, which is a helium inflatable kite. Drone small cells (DSCs)
which act as aerial wireless base stations can be placed on UAVs in order to provide wireless services [45]. In
ABSOLUTE, AeNBs need to be transported by truck; additional time and effort is required for their deployment
which means they may not be easily utilised in our battlefield digital forensics case. However, the DSC
alternative can be chosen due to its easy and rapid deployment capability. It can be also a viable solution if the
operation is already supported by UAVs for other purposes.
ABSOLUTE also includes a terrestrial communication platform, Portable Land Mobile Unit (PLMU), which can be
placed in harsh terrains where AeNBs cannot be deployed. They can be also used with AeNBs in order to
increase the bandwidth availability. The PLMU integrates a Wireless LAN router and a Ka-band satellite modem.
In the battlefield scenario, they can be deployed in a helicopter or in the site area theatre to provide the link
between satellite and ground. Via the Wireless LAN router, they can collect the obtained forensics data and
relay to other points.
In the study’s battlefield case, UAV integrated versions of AeNBs or PLMUs can relay the forensics data
obtained from the target site to the network endpoint in a closer secure area, or they may transmit them to
distant locations via satellite links. Rather than doing the relaying function, AeNBs can also store the forensics
data themselves.
55 It is claimed that the system provides connectivity even into deep canyons and valleys.
56 http://www.absolute-project.eu/images/ABSOLUTE_white_paper_2015.pdf
57