We explore aerial multi-hop integrated access and backhaul (IAB) networks, considering the backhaul link load and interference. We propose the lightening backhaul load (LBL) scheme to improve the performance of networks. Specifically, by using the proposed scheme, unnecessary large hop transmission is avoided, which reduces the load at backhaul links as well as the interference, with a small loss in the average received power (ARP). We then derive the successful transmission probability (STP) of aerial multi-hop IAB networks with the LBL scheme. Finally, we show that the LBL scheme outperforms baseline schemes and provide design insights on aerial IAB networks. IEEE
