The Development of Air Escort Tactics for High-Value Airborne Assets Using Manned-Unmanned Teaming and the Study on Effective Force Disposition Using M&S

Abstract

As the role of high-value air assets(e.g., AWACS, JSTARS, Rivet Joint, E-2) becomes more critical in modern warfare, the air escort for these assets blocking attacks from any potential enemy fighter also becomes vital. Without the escort, the operations of the assets become restricted. However, such an escort is not always possible due to the limited flight time of the escort fighters. In this paper, we introduce an escort tactics for high-value air assets performed by the manned-unmanned teaming composed of a transport aircraft and UAVs(unmanned aerial vehicles). In this tactics, the transport aircraft plays the role of an aircraft carrier, which carries, launches, and retrieves the UAVs. The missions of UAVs in this tactics are to detect and engage enemy fighters. We also introduce the simulation result of this tactics to identify the UAVs' required capabilities and optimal maneuvering.