Dynamic Replanning Algorithm for Aircrew Display Aid to Assess Jam Effectiveness

• US 20080297396A1
• Filed: 02/29/2008
• Published: 12/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: the united states of america as represented by the secretary of the navy
• Original Assignee: the united states of america as represented by the secretary of the navy
• Inventors: Burkholder, Scott, Dark, James, Buscemi, James
• Granted Patent: US 7,893,866 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 342/14
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/021 Auxiliary means for detecting or identifying radar signals or the like, e.g. radar jamming signals
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/04 Display arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/38 Jamming means, e.g. producing false echoes
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 2203/22 for communication related to vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/45 characterized by including monitoring of the target or target signal, e.g. in reactive jammers or follower jammers for example by means of an alternation of jamming phases and monitoring phases, called "look-through mode"
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/94 related to allowing or preventing testing or assessing

Abstract

The invention generally relates to the field of computer software particularly to an improved method of providing aircrew decision aids for use in determining the optimum placement of an Electronic Attack (EA) aircraft. The core of the invention is a software program that will dynamically provide the EA flight crew situational awareness regarding a threat emitter'"'"'s coverage relative to the position of the EA aircraft and to the position of any number of protected entities (PE). The software program generates information to provide visual cues representing a Jam Acceptability Region (JAR) contour, a Jam Assessment Strobe (JAS) and text for display on a number of flexibly configurable display formats posted on display units. The JAR and JAS graphics and text will aid the EA aircrew in rapidly assessing the effectiveness of a given jamming approach. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract that will allow a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A system for generating a look-ahead flight path comprising:

a first database component operatively coupled with an electronic order of battle operative to maintain data extracted from said electronic order of battle;

a second database component operative to maintain a plurality of platform position model data;

a third database component operative to maintain final scoring array data;

a computer processor operatively coupled with said first database component, said second database component, said third database component, and a power supply;

said computer processor programmed with a dynamic mission re-planning algorithm and instructions to execute said dynamic mission re-planning algorithm;

said dynamic mission re-planning algorithm operable to calculate look-ahead flight path data.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said second database component includes a first heading, a first speed and a first altitude corresponding to a position of an electronic attack platform.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said second database component includes a second heading, a second speed and a second altitude corresponding to a position of a protected entity platform.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein said instructions to execute a dynamic mission re-planning algorithm includes instructions to generate a nested looping structure comprising;

a main loop structure to control a time based extrapolation of said plurality of said position model data;

a minor loop structure operating within said main loop structure to generate a plurality of scored alternative positions wherein said scored alternative positions are optimized for jamming effectiveness.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein said display screen presents to said user a hierarchical listing of said plurality of elements of said final scored array wherein said hierarchical listing uses a jamming effectiveness score.

12. The computer readable medium of claim 1I wherein said first field includes heading data, speed data, and altitude data representing said position of said electronic attack platform.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein said major loop structure iterates a maximum of five iterations.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein said overall hierarchical listing of said scored alternative positions is used to dynamically remap a current flight path with a look-ahead projected flight path which corresponds to one scored alternative position within said set of scored alternative positions.

6. A computer program product in a computer readable medium having computer program code recorded thereon, wherein a program code includes sets of instructions comprising:

first computer instructions for accepting a plurality of parameter data including a plurality of navigational data, a plurality of external messages containing positional data and a system time tag;

second computer instructions for maintaining in computer memory a plurality of position models wherein a maintenance of said plurality of position models incorporates said plurality of parameter data;

third computer instructions for managing in computer memory a plurality of arrays including a parameter flag array, an alternatives position array, a scoring array and a final scoring array;

fourth computer instructions for performing a time based extrapolation upon said plurality of position models wherein said time based extrapolation extrapolates each of said plurality of parameter data;

fifth computer instructions for storing within said alternatives position array a result of said time based extrapolation as a set of extrapolated parameter data;

sixth computer instructions for modifying said set of extrapolated parameter data as determined by a plurality of flag settings contained within said parameter flag array resulting in a modified set of extrapolated parameter data wherein a location of each of said plurality of flag settings are mapped to a corresponding location within said alternatives position array to define modifying said modified set of extrapolated parameter data;

seventh computer instructions for determining a jam effectivity score wherein said jam effectivity score is determined for each of said modified set of extrapolated parameter data contained within said alternatives position array;

eighth computer instructions for creating a first iterative loop structure to optimize said jam effectivity score by incrementally changing said modified set of extrapolated parameter data within said alternatives position array wherein an execution of said first iterative loop structure results in an optimized set of extrapolated parameter data and a corresponding optimized jam effectivity score;

ninth computer instructions for populating said scoring array with a first hierarchical list of entries wherein said first hierarchical list of entries includes said optimized set of extrapolated parameter data and said corresponding optimized jam effectivity score;

tenth computer instructions for creating a second iterative loop structure to generate a plurality of said scoring arrays for a plurality of one minute extrapolation intervals;

eleventh computer instructions for creating a final scoring array by sorting said plurality of said scoring arrays wherein a result of said sorting is a second hierarchical list using said optimized jam effectivity score; and

twelfth computer instructions for displaying said final scoring array wherein said final scoring array provides a look-ahead projection of jamming effectiveness.

7. The computer program product of claim 6 wherein said plurality of navigational data includes electronic attack (EA) aircraft heading, speed and altitude.

8. The computer program product of claim 6 wherein said plurality of external messages containing positional data includes protected entity (PE) aircraft heading, speed and altitude.

9. The computer program product of claim 6 wherein said plurality of one minute extrapolation intervals is a maximum of five one minute extrapolation intervals.

10. The computer program product of claim 6 wherein said seventh computer instructions for determining said jam effectivity score further includes instructions to implement sets of computer routines comprising:

first computer routine for accepting information stored within an electronic order of battle;

second computer routine for accepting said plurality of parameter data;

third computer routine for executing a jammer and tactics optimization power equation wherein said jammer and tactics optimization power equation accepts as input said information stored within said electronic order of battle and said plurality of parameter data; and

fourth computer routine for communicating a result of said third computer routine to said eighth computer instruction.

11. A computer readable medium having stored thereon a data structure comprising:

a first field containing data representing a position of an electronic attack platform;

a second field containing data representing a position of a protected entity;

a third field containing data representing a plurality of parameter flags;

a fourth field containing data representing an extrapolation of said position of said electronic attack platform contained in said first field;

a fifth field containing data representing an extrapolation of said position of said protected entity contained in said second field;

a sixth field containing data representing a first alternative position wherein said first alternative position is a first modification of said extrapolation of said position of said electronic attack platform contained in said fourth field as determined by said plurality of parameter flags contained in said third field;

a seventh field containing data representing a determination of a jam effectiveness score wherein said determination uses as input said data contained in said fourth field, said data contained in said fifth field and said data contained in said sixth field;

an eighth field containing data representing a plurality of updated alternative positions wherein said updated alternative positions are updated according to a plurality of aerodynamic boundary limits applied iteratively by operation of a minor loop structure;

a ninth field containing data representing a plurality of updated jam effectiveness scores calculated iteratively by said operation of said minor loop structure wherein said plurality of updated jam effectiveness scores corresponding to said plurality of updated alternative position data contained in said data in said eighth field;

tenth field containing data representing a set of scored alternative positions wherein said set of scored alternative positions includes a hierarchical listing of a corresponding pair of said plurality of updated alternative position data contained in said eighth field and said plurality of updated jam effectiveness scores contained in said ninth field; and

eleventh field containing data representing a final score array, said final score array calculated at one minute extrapolation intervals by operation of a major loop structure wherein said final score array includes an overall hierarchical listing of said set of scored alternative positions.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 11 wherein said second field includes heading data, speed data, and altitude data representing said position of said protected entity platform.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 11 wherein said ninth field includes a result of a jammer and tactics optimization power equation.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 11 wherein said minor loop structure is initially set to iterate a maximum of twenty-seven iterations.

18. A system for generating a look-ahead flight path comprising:

a power supply operatively coupled with a first database, a second database, a third database, an electronic order of battle, and a computer processor;

said computer processor operatively coupled with said first database, said second database, said third database, and said electronic order of battle;

said first database operatively coupled with and operative to maintain data accessed from said electronic order of battle;

said second database operative to maintain a plurality of platform position model data;

said computer processor programmed to execute a dynamic mission re-planning algorithm;

said dynamic mission re-planning algorithm operable upon said electronic order of battle data and said platform position model data to calculate look-ahead flight path data;

said third database operative to maintain look-ahead flight path data.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein said dynamic mission re-planning algorithm includes a jammer and tactics optimization power equation.

20. The system of claim 18 wherein output look-ahead flight path data calculated by said dynamic mission re-planning algorithm is maintained in a final scoring array.

21. A system for generating a look-ahead flight path comprising:

an electronic order of battle including retrievable datasets;

a platform position model database including retrievable datasets;

a first dataset retrieved from said electronic order of battle;

a second dataset retrieved from said platform position model database;

a computer processor programmed to process said first dataset and said second dataset and to execute a dynamic mission re-planning algorithm;

said dynamic mission re-planning algorithm operable upon said first dataset and said second dataset to solve a jammer and tactics optimization power equation;

said computer processor programmed to output said jammer and tactics optimization power equation solutions to a final scored array database including retrievable datasets; and

,

said computer processor programmed to output a third dataset retrieved from said final scored array database to form a look-ahead flight path.

22. The system for generating a look-ahead flight path of claim 21 wherein said third dataset is output to a graphical and textual visual display.