Integrity bound situational awareness and weapon targeting

• US 6,952,001 B2
• Filed: 05/23/2003
• Issued: 10/04/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Raytheon Company (Rtx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Raytheon Company (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Ormand, Donald R., McKendree, Thomas L., Habereder, Hans L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gregory, Bernarr E.
• Application Number:
  US10/444,936
• Publication Number:
  US 20040233097A1
• Time in Patent Office: 865 Days
• Field of Search: 356 401- 515, 367 87-116, 342 52- 58, 342 60- 68, 382/100, 382/154, 89/11.1, 244 31- 33, 244/158.R
• US Class Current: 244/3.1
• CPC Class Codes: F41G 3/02 using an independent line of sight
• CPC Class Codes: F41G 3/04 for dispersing fire from a battery ; for controlling spread of shots; for coordinating fire from spaced weapons
• CPC Class Codes: F41G 7/007 Preparatory measures taken before the launching of the guided missiles
• CPC Class Codes: F41G 7/346 using global navigation satellite systems, e.g. GPS, GALILEO, GLONASS
• CPC Class Codes: F41G 7/36 using inertial references
• CPC Class Codes: F41G 9/00 Systems for controlling missiles or projectiles, not provided for elsewhere

Abstract

A system and method of providing situational awareness and weapon targeting is presented. The method includes determining the location of one or more enemy sites and one or more friendly sites. A “Do Not Engage” (DNE) zone is determined around each of the friendly sites and an “Allowable Engagement” (AE) zone is established around each of the enemy sites, wherein none of the AE zones overlap any of the DNE zones. An engagement plan is then determined based on the AE zones and integrity bounds on candidate munitions. The system includes a processing and communications network and a sensor element in communication with the processing and communications network. The system also includes a command control element in communication with the processing and communications network and an operating elements section in communication with the processing and communications network.

Claims

1. A method of providing situational awareness in information and weapon targeting information comprising:

receiving a location of one or more enemy sites;

receiving a location of one or more protected sites;

establishing a Do Not Engage (DNE) zone around each of said protected sites; and

determining an engagement plan based on said DNE zones and said enemy sites wherein said engagement plan enables engagement of enemy sites without impinging upon said DNE zones.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining one or more hypothesized site locations based on situational awareness of one or more friendly, allied, neutral or civilian sites, said hypothesized sites considered as protected sites.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said establishing a DNE zone comprises merging integrity data on the possible uncertainty and dispersion of the protected sites.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said determining an engagement plan comprises:

selecting intended targets;

tracking said Do Not Engage zones at a predetermined integrity; and

placing Integrity Bound Plus Weapon Effect zones around said intended targets such that none of said Integrity Bound Plus Weapon Effect zones overlap said Do Not Engage zones.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said enemy sites include one or more of enemy troops, enemy installations, enemy infrastructure, and civilian infrastructure being used by said enemy troops.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said friendly sites include one or more of friendly troops, friendly installations, friendly infrastructure civilian population, civilian sites, and civilian infrastructure.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein said friendly sites include one or more allied troops, allied installations or allied infrastructure, with allied integrity information provided indirectly through joint command channels.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein said friendly sites include at least one of the group consisting of civilian population, civilian sites, and civilian infrastructure, with civilian integrity information assessed independently by friendly sensors.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining uncertainty zones around each of said enemy sites.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein said receiving a location of one or more enemy sites comprises receiving information from one or more of friendly units with fixed sensors and platform-based vehicle sensors.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein said sensors comprise one or more of radar, lidar, sonar, passive acoustic devices, magnetic anomaly detectors, vibration sensors, passive optical sensors, passive infrared sensors, and humans filing reports.

12. A system for providing situational awareness information and weapon targeting information comprising:

a processing and communications network processing commands, reports and integrity data; and

a sensor element in communication with said processing and communications network, said sensor element receiving tasking information from said processing and communications network, and providing reports and integrity data to said processing and communications network; and

a command and control element in communication with said processing and communications network, said command and control element receiving situational awareness information and integrity data from said processing and communications network and providing commands to said processing and communications network.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein said integrity data includes at least one of the group consisting of uncertainty estimating parameters for sensor observations, total integrity bounds for candidate munitions and engagement scenarios, uncertainty parameters at multiple integrity levels, uncertainty parameters selected to decompose as mathematical parameters that scale with dynamically selected integrity levels, and Do Not Engage (DNE) zones surrounding friendly sites.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein said command and control element selects the integrity level of each DNE from the available integrity levels.

15. The system of claim 13 wherein said command and control element selects the integrity level of each DNE from a continuously variable range.

16. The system of claim 13 wherein said command and control element determines an engagement plan based on said DNE zones and said total integrity bound wherein said engagement plan enables engagement of enemy sites without impinging upon said DNE zones.

17. The system of claim 13 wherein said DNE zone is determined by merging integrity data on the possible uncertainty and dispersion of the friendly sites.

18. The system of claim 13 wherein said engagement plan is determined by selecting aim-points, tracking said Do Not Engage zones at a predetermined integrity level with said aim-points, and placing Weapon Effect zones around said enemy sites such that none of said Weapon Effect zones overlap said Do Not Engage zones.

19. The system of claim 12 wherein said command and control element implements the function of commanding the system to operate at a selected integrity level.

20. The system of claim 12 wherein said command and control element implements the function of commanding the system to operate at a selected continuously variable integrity level.

21. The system of claim 12 wherein said integrity data includes Uncertainty zones surrounding said enemy sites.

22. The system of claim 12 wherein said enemy sites include one or more of enemy troops, enemy installations, enemy infrastructure, and civilian infrastructure being used by said enemy troops.

23. The system of claim 12 wherein said friendly sites include one or more of friendly troops, friendly installations, friendly infrastructure, civilian population, civilian sites, and civilian infrastructure.

24. The system of claim 12 wherein at least one of said friendly sites and said enemy sites include one or more hypothesized sites.

25. The system of claim 12 wherein said sensor element receives information from one or more of troops with range finders, vehicle sensors, radar, lidar, sonar, passive acoustic devices, magnetic anomaly detectors, vibration sensors, passive optical sensors, passive infrared sensors, and humans filing reports.

26. The system of claim 12 further comprising an operating elements section in communication with said processing and communications network, said operating elements section receiving commands and integrity data from said processing and communications network, said operating elements section providing reports and integrity data to said processing and communications network.

27. A method of providing situational awareness information comprising:

receiving a location of one or more enemy sites;

receiving a location of one or more friendly sites;

establishing Do Not Engage (DNE) zone around each of said friendly sites; and

determining and engagement plan based on said DNE zones and said enemy sites wherein said engagement plan enables engagement of enemy sites without impinging upon said DNE zones.

28. The method of claim 27 further comprising establishing an uncertainty zone around each of said enemy sites.

29. The method of claim 27 further comprising displaying said DNE zones to command and control operators.

30. The method of claim 27 further comprising displaying said uncertainty zones to command and control operators.