AERIAL: Mission-Aware LLM Selection for Language-Driven UAV Control in Flying Networks

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in Flying Networks (FNs) increasingly require mechanisms to translate high-level natural language objectives into executable missions. Although Large Language Models (LLMs) have demonstrated the feasibility of language-driven UAV control, existing approaches typically rely on static model configurations and overlook mission-aware performance variability. This paper presents AERIAL, a benchmark-driven framework for adaptive LLM selection in hybrid edge-cloud UAV control. AERIAL separates systematic model benchmarking from mission execution, deriving empirical scenario-model mappings and applying them at runtime for mission-aware selection. Evaluation across 720 automated simulation runs spanning navigation, spatial reasoning, and algorithm invocation revealed significant performance variability depending on scenario-model pairing. A case study integrating AERIAL with a FNs placement algorithm further validated the framework's ability to interface with domain-specific optimization modules through natural language. These results validate the effectiveness of AERIAL's adaptive model selection in improving reliability and operational robustness for autonomous UAV control in FNs.