ISR MISSION PLANNER

Kutta developed a state-of-the-art multi-vehicle mission planner (MP) system. The MP uses the Department of Defense (DoD) Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), Control Segment Working Group (UCS-WG), and Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) with open interfaces. The system integrates into Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) enabled platforms and was specifically designed to automate many of the manual mission planning tasks associated with ISR flight operations.

Task Defining

Quickly defines high-level tasks such as ingress routes, roads and areas to survey, and target points to cycle through while conducting “Pattern of Life” surveillance, loiter and rally points, as well as egress routes. Directional reconnaissance points as well as pre-defined points of interest or sensor survey routes can also be entered. The Mission Planner will automatically calculate the optimal stand-off loiter points for the air vehicle in conjunction with the optimal sensor stare points, with dwell times and coverage overlap to successfully survey the route or area while maintaining the chosen zoom level.

Line-of-Sight / Airspace Regions

Analyzes the line-of-sight range of ground-based radio signals to coordinate efforts between the Fixed Ground Station (FGS) and Transportable Ground Station (TGS) during a mission.

Inputs and studies existing battlespace airspace regions (i.e. restricted operating zones, no-fly zones, etc.) along with their attributes such as the altitude region of controlled airspace, the time frame that it is valid, as well as the controlling authorities of the airspace (i.e. contract frequencies required to contact the official that manages the airspace).

Auto-Routing

Auto-routes around no-fly zones, computes mission times, and ties the high-level ISR objectives (i.e. ingress, surveillance, and egress) together to create a complete and efficient mission plan (i.e. flight routes with estimated waypoint arrival times and total mission time) to maximize time on target.

Flight-Test Cards

Outputs easily readable flight-test cards for the pilot to utilize during the mission. Additionally, the MP outputs a digital file for visual reference so that onboard systems can utilize the data, arm the correct sensors, and point the full motion video camera on the desired targets to fulfill the mission objectives.

The outputs of the MP System are as follows:

• An easily readable flight-test card in PDF format for the pilot to utilize during the mission
• A digital file for visual reference so that onboard systems can utilize the planned data

During an active mission, the MP system can do the following:

• Indicate the geographical position of the aircraft overlaid on a map
• Display the location and sensor footprint of where the EO/IR sensor is focused on the ground