UNO tests AI-enabled cybersecurity defenses for drones with NSF-backed research platform

University of Nebraska at Omaha researchers are testing artificial-intelligence-enabled cybersecurity protections for drone systems through a research platform designed to examine risks to unmanned aerial vehicles and their autonomy.

The work uses UNO’s Multi-Modal AI-enabled UAV Research testbed, known as MM-AIR. The project focuses on defenses against cyberattacks that could affect drone systems and autonomous operation. It is research activity rather than a documented commercial or statewide deployment.

The National Science Foundation awarded the project $175,000 through its Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace program. The award, No. 2451471, is scheduled to run from 2025 through 2027.

Research platform and student involvement

The work is being conducted through UNO’s College of Information Science and Technology in Omaha. Undergraduate and graduate students are participating in the project, which combines artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and drone-related cyber-physical systems research.

UNO’s broader cybersecurity research describes work involving machine learning, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, including cyber-physical systems, internet-connected devices and privacy. The drone project applies that research focus to unmanned aircraft systems.

The project began Oct. 1, 2025. Initial student training was planned for spring 2026, and UNO said findings were scheduled to be shared through the university and Nebraska STEM outreach programs in summer 2026.

Why drone cybersecurity is a concern

Drones are used in areas including agriculture, infrastructure inspection and public safety. A cyberattack that redirects or disables an autonomous aircraft could create operational and safety risks, making the security of the systems that guide and communicate with drones an important research question.

The MM-AIR testbed gives researchers a setting to study those questions and develop AI-powered defenses. The available UNO material does not identify a completed test result, a specific summer 2026 findings release or evidence that the system has stopped a real-world drone attack.

That distinction matters: the announced effort is a funded research project using a testbed, not proof that the technology guarantees secure autonomous flight. Any stronger assessment of its performance would require project records or reported results beyond the available institutional account.

The next stated milestones were student training and dissemination of findings through UNO and Nebraska STEM outreach programs. The project’s scheduled 2025-27 period leaves additional time for the research team to develop and assess its work.