Due to the dynamic nature of Mobile Ad hoc NETwork (MANET) the designing and development of protocols is very challenging. MANET has a limited number of resources i.e., power, infrastructure, etc. The need for an optimized path for communication amongst node has attracted the use of Swarm Intelligence (SI) based techniques such as Ant-Colony Optimization (ACO), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). In sort to broaden the duration of communication availability, the protocol needs to be optimized for finding out the greatest path. SI based techniques are able to solve these numerous routing problems. ACO provides the optimized packet delivery rate, throughput with low power consumption and packet delay. This paper compares the performance of various existing routing protocols viz. AODV, AOMDV as reactive, DSDV as proactive and ACOP using Random Waypoint Mobility Model. The purpose of using this mobility model is generating different scenarios for the same purpose. The analysis of these protocols has been made by implementing irregularities in the scenario using Network Simulator (NS2). Various performance metrics including Packet Delivery Fraction, Throughput and End to end Delay are used for validating the comparative study. Experimental results of the simulation indicate that the performance of the ACOP protocol is found better than other protocols of study.

In Flying Ad-hoc Networks (FANET), the communication among nodes is carried out in a fast-moving dynamic topology. Over the past few decades, FANETs are found to be applicable in plenty of domains i.e., Military battlefield, surveillance, healthcare, transportation, etc. In FANET, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) help exchange real-time information among different entities and control stations. Due to the complex infrastructure and rapid mobility, routing in these networks becomes quite challenging. To deal with such challenges, the selection of appropriate routing algorithm according to the requirements of specific situations is essential. Routing algorithms are generally categorized into two main categories viz. proactive and reactive. In dynamic situations like FANET, proactive routing provides up-to-date routing information. Keeping in view of several advantages of proactive routing protocols, here, the performance of two well-known proactive routing algorithms viz. Destination Sequenced Distance Vector Routing (DSDV) and Optimized Link State Routing (OLSR), is examined under group mobility model scenario for FANET environment. Empirical evaluation of the scenario is carried by conducting a series of experiments under varying traffic sources patterns i.e., speed, network load, groups, and number of UAVs. Based on several performance parameters, including packet loss, routing overhead, normalized routing load, packet delivery fraction, throughput, and average one-way delay, a performance assessment of OLSR and DSDV is evaluated for FANETs. Simulation results showed that DSDV is more suitable for FANET environments under group mobility model for FANET environment.