A Mission Processing Requirements Analysis for Future Army Unmanned Aircraft

摘要

The Manned/Unmanned Common Architecture Program Phase 3 (MCAP Phase 3) developed an embedded mission processing architecture to support advanced autonomy, functionality, interoperability, and avionics cost reductions for 4 current and future unmanned Army aircraft. The project evaluated the potential missions for these vehicles, identified the required advanced mission equipment and software applications, and estimated their effects on the embedded computational resources. Open systems interfaces and market driven COTS (commercial off the shelf) were selected, technical requirements quantified, integration approaches conceived, a prototype processing system fabricated, and tests run in a high fidelity, system in the loop simulation environment. Results, documented in January 2006, include estimates for space, weight, and power and for throughput, bandwidth, and memory; lay outs for conceptual integration approaches; and demonstrations of advanced functional capabilities that may prove useful for future operations. This paper summarizes the research and related follow-on activities and identifies next steps and transition opportunities.