Abstract
Battery-powered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been widely used as enablers of wireless networks. In this letter, the optimal battery weight for UAV-enabled wireless sensor networks is studied. The energy available for communication by considering propulsion energy consumption is maximized. Both numerical and approximate solutions to the optimal battery weight are derived. Numerical results show that both vertical and horizontal flight speeds and the gross weight of the UAV have great impact on the optimal battery weight.