Target priority based optimisation of radar resources for networked air defence systems

Abstract

Air Defence System (ADS) effectiveness relies not only on weapon and sensor performances but also on effective usage of those resources. In an ADS Network, several ADS are deployed in an overlapping coverage in order to increase the protection of defended assets (DA). Limited tracking capacity of ADS fire control radars leads to a limited engagement capability of the whole ADS network. In this paper, a radar resource optimisation algorithm is proposed for networked ADS fire control radars in order to apply an adaptive tracking strategy for threatening targets under the constraint of tracking capacity limitation for each fire control radar. Threat posed by the targets is calculated using a Fuzzy Logic System (FLS) that takes into account the variables related to threat as well as DAs. An optimisation strategy is utilised in order to select the minimum number of tracking radars that will minimise the cost function formed by tracking quality metrics related to threat priorities and Bayesian Cramér-Rao lower bound (BCRLB). Proposed algorithm dynamically selects target tracking quality and minimises tracking resources in an ADS by utilising surrogate optimisation suitable for real-time implementation. Simulation results are given in order to show the improvement in defence effectiveness of networked ADS.

A Networked Radar Resource Management Approach Utilizing Target Priority and Maneuver for Cooperative Air Defense Fire Control Radars

“…Adaptive tracking requires filters such as Interacting Multiple Model (IMM) that detect target maneuvers that can be used to adjust the dwell time on the target. Target priority is also another essential feature that can be used in adaptive tracking applications [14], [15].…”

“…These features of the targets can be utilized while evaluating the threat degree of targets and prioritizing them accordingly. While target priority is mainly used to manage weapon resources, benefits of using target priority to manage radar resources have been shown in the literature [11], [14], [15].…”