Aircraft Survivability Re-routing

As the US continues to dominate air-to-air combat, the ability to maintain complete air supremacy will be challenged primarily from the ground. Airborne operations that require low altitude flight at relatively low speeds for any duration of time are particularly vulnerable to ground-based threats. In Phase I, TSC successfully demonstrated the feasibility of a near real-time system to perform route re-planning in a dynamic threat environment that enhances the survivability of a helicopter by utilizing terrain masking. Various ground-based threats were modeled, and helicopter flight capabilities and RCS signatures were simulated. In Phase II, TSC will refine and mature the route re-planning algorithms and perform high fidelity simulated testing on a laboratory version of the MH-60R/S. Laboratory test results and feedback from Naval aviators will be incorporated into the system, and hardware options will be recommended for transitioning the system from the laboratory into the Navy's MH-60R/S fleet.