Drone Transportation System: Systematic Review of Security Dynamics for Smart Mobility

The intelligence and integrity of a real-time cyber–physical system depend on how trustworthy the data’s legitimacy, appropriation, and authorization are during end-to-end communication between the participating nodes in its network. With the recurrent repugnant global violations of the airspace by drones and their derivatives, there is an urgent need to empirically evaluate the underlying security architectures that govern drone usage operations for priority logistics. This review examines the significant contribution of artificial intelligence models and blockchain to the development of trustworthy and reliable intelligent and secure autonomous systems by integrating cyberspace, intelligence space, and airspace security. PRISMA-SPIDER methodology was adopted for the systematic review of 133 articles based on the inclusion criteria consisting of 91 (68.4%) quantitative studies, 19 qualitative studies (14.2%), and 23 (17.3%) mixed method studies to balance article selection sensitivity and specificity. The review outcome shows a significant disconnect between model proposals and actual implementation. Through the incorporation of zero-trust architecture into the existing blockchain technology and the convergence of newer AI models, dynamic security issues like drone ownership authentication, drone package delivery verification, drone operation authorization, and drone jurisdiction accountability, can be achieved seamlessly for secure smart mobility via drone transportation systems.