Comanche Survivability and Tactics Expert Planner (C-STEP)

"Given the amount and rate of information flow from multiple sensors, other rotorcraft systems, and the complexity of the modern battlefield, the Comanche pilot's ability to accurately correlate these multiple sets of data and make correct decisions will bedifficult if not impossible without automated expert advisor assistance. It is difficult enough for human beings to take into account all relevant factors to make an optimal routing and tactics selection, even in a relaxed environment with plenty of time.More often, route and tactics selection must be made "on the fly," in an information overloaded, time-constrained, and dangerous environment that is not conducive to careful consideration of all relevant factors. Consequently, manual route and tacticsselection is often non-optimal from many standpoints, even when made by highly experienced personnel. Such non-optimal route and tactics selection could result in disoriented attack helicopter forces at the objective, unplanned encounters with threats, ordetection by enemy forces, all of which could result in a failed mission. This project will develop a prototype automated Comanche Survivability and Tactics Expert Planner/Advisor that incorporates state of the art autorouting and artificial intelligencetechnologies in a hybrid system for both mission planning and real-time onboard use."