The analysis of a generic air-to-air missile simulation model

Description

No complete input data. – 47 p.A generic missile model was developed to evaluate the benefits of using a dynamic missile fly-out simulation system versus a static missile launch envelope system for air-to-air combat simulation. This paper examines the performance of a launch envelope model and a missile fly-out model. The launch envelope model bases its probability of killing the target aircraft on the target aircraft’s position at the launch time of the weapon. The missile’s probability of kill is calculated by using either a mathematical function or a look-up table. This method presents several problems. The method does not account for any evasive maneuvers that the target aircraft attempts in order to maximize the miss distance of the missile to the aircraft. Most launch envelope implementations do not include the opponent’s closing rate and Line-of-Sight (LOS) rate in the probability of kill computation. The benefits gained from a launch envelope model are the simplicity of implementation and the minimal computational overhead required. The missile’s probability of kill is based strictly on the target’s position at launch time. A missile fly-out model takes into account the physical characteristics of the missile as it simulates the guidance, propulsion, and movement of the missile. The missile’s probability of kill is based on the missile miss distance (or the minimum distance between the missile and the target aircraft). This technique of modeling weapon launches rewards the target aircraft for any evasive maneuvers that it attempts in order to maximize the missile miss distance. The problems associated with this method of modeling are a larger computational overhead, the additional complexity required to determine the missile miss distance, and the additional complexity of determining the reason(s) the missile missed the target. This paper evaluates the two methods and compares the results of running each method on a comprehensive set of test conditions.