Fighter Equipment Contribution Evaluation Based on Maneuver Decision

Abstract

With the development of integrated technology and equipment systems, decision-making support has been increasingly applied in equipment research and development, especially in air combat. The development of airborne equipment can significantly improve the confrontation ability of manned fighters. Contribution evaluations restrict decision making in equipment research and development and are important in beyond-visual-range (BVR) air combat, which involves dynamic and uncertain enemy positions. This paper proposes a contribution evaluation model for BVR air combat based on autonomous maneuver decision making; this approach mainly includes a situation evaluation model, a maneuver decision model, and a one-to-one BVR air combat evaluation model. However, such a model includes a high-dimensional state and action space, which require many computations, especially if equipment changes occur. Then, an autonomous maneuver decision algorithm based on the influence diagram method is proposed; this algorithm uses a rolling time domain concept to improve combat fidelity and obtain useful equipment contribution evaluation results. Finally, one-to-one BVR air combat is simulated based on different aircraft models and airborne equipment. The simulation results show that the proposed maneuver decision model and countermeasure evaluation model can help experts quantify the contributions of equipment and provide adequate decision-making support to improve equipment systems.