Integrated Deployment and Resource Allocation in Multi-Layer UAV-Enabled NOMA Wireless Caching Networks

Conventional multi-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) assisted non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) wireless caching networks (WCNs) usually operate in a distributed and non-collaborative manner, where each UAV serves users independently without coordination or relay support. When UAVs move beyond the communication range of ground base stations (BSs), backhaul disruption occurs, leading to high user latency and limited system scalability. To address these issues, we propose a multi-layer UAV-assisted NOMA WCN architecture, where a primary UAV (PUAV) communicates with the BS and cooperates with multiple secondary UAVs (SUAVs). The PUAV not only acts as a control and coordination hub but also serves as a relay for content transmission to SUAVs when necessary. To minimize user transmission latency, we propose a joint iterative algorithm that integrates user clustering, user pairing, power allocation, and UAV deployment. First, we develop an Advanced Balanced K-Means++ (ABKM) algorithm to ensure that each cluster contains a balanced number of users and to reduce the distance between users and their serving SUAVs. Next, we derive the NOMA power allocation factor that minimizes user transmission latency, ensuring efficient resource distribution among all paired users. Furthermore, we analyze the impact of PUAV and SUAV placement on user latency and propose a two-stage particle swarm optimization (PSO)-based algorithm to iteratively optimize the deployment of all UAVs. Finally, the user pairs and power allocation are jointly optimized based on the updated deployment of all UAVs to further reduce user latency. Simulation results show that, compared with a single-layer UAV architecture and benchmark schemes, the proposed multi-layer design with joint optimization achieves lower user latency. Additionally, comparisons with the optimal power allocation search method confirm the validity of the derived NOMA power allocation factor.