UNMANNED AIR VEHICLE SYSTEMS MANAGER

UNMANNED AIR VEHICLE (UAV) SYSTEMS PROVIDE THE CAPABILITY TO PERFORM DIRECTED FLIGHT PLAN MISSIONS. CURRENTLY, FLIGHT PLANS ARE OPERATOR PREDEFINED AND MAY BE MANUALLY MODIFIED IN FLIGHT OVER A COMMUNICATIONLIN. FLIGHT PLAN MODIFICATIONS ARE BASED ON OPERATOR OBSERVATIONS OF UAV PAYLOAD ACCOMPLISHMENTS, TERRAIN, AND AIRCRAFT MEASURED PARAMETERS SUCH AS FUEL LEVEL, ALTITUDE AND METEROLOGICAL CONDITIONS. HOWEVER, DURING LONG ENDURANCE UAV MISSIONS, THE COMMUNICATION LINK IS NOT ALWAYS AVAILABLE, THEREBY RESTRICTING FLIGHT PLAN MODIFICATIONS. SEVERE WEATHER, LOW FUEL LEVEL AND OTHER DETRIMENTAL CONDITIONS CANNOT ALWAYS BE ANTICIPATED IN ADVANCE. AN AIRBORNE SYSTEMS MANAGER IS NEEDED TO PROVIDE THE REQUIRED INTELLIGENCE AND SITUATION ASSESSMENT TO DYNAMICALLY RESPOND TO THE CHANGING CONDITIONS. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO PROVE THE TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY OF PROVIDING AN AIRBORNE AUTOMATED CAPABILITY FOR PLANNING/REPLANNING UAV MISSIONS BY DEVELOPING AN EXPERT SYSTEM ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN. THE INTEGRATION OF AN EXPERT SYSTEM INTO A UAV WILL PROVIDE PILOT-LIKE INTELLIGENCE REQUIRED FOR SUCCESSFUL LONG ENDURANCE UAV MISSIONS.