TERRAIN CONTOUR MATCHING (TERCOM) MAP PLACEMENT

A cruise missile mission planner has to select a route with a high probability of inflight survivability and to assure enroute navigational accuracy. The objective of this study is to develop automated tools to help cruise missile mission planners determine the optimum route and best reference sites so that viable TERCOM maps can be constructed to meet tactical requirements. The specific objective during the Phase I work is to develop a technique to determine the feasibility of the proposed approach for identifying the best combination of factors for the development of TERCOM maps to meet tactical objectives. The terrain roughness can provide only an indirect index to predict the suitability of TERCOM site selection. A more direct approach is to use the Monte Carlo simulation technique for the purpose. In the direct simulation proposed herein a reference terrain map and a sample realistic map error will be combined to create the on-board TERCOM map. The measurements of a radar altimeter and a baro-damped inertial navigation system will be generated. Four different trajectory orientations and three different sizes of on-board maps will be evaluated, each of which consists of 441 trials uniformaly placed on the map. A performance table that summarizes the results of the simulation will be used to determine the suitability of the area under consideration as a TERCOM site and to support two modes of operation: (1) mission specific, and (2) non-mission specific.