Modeling fighter aircraft mission survivability

A fighter aircraft flying a mission is often exposed to ground-based threats such as surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites. The fighter pilot needs to take actions to minimize the risk of being shot down, but at the same time be able to accomplish the mission. In this paper we propose a survivability model, which describes the probability that the aircraft will be able to fly a given route without being hit by incoming missiles. Input to this model can consist of sensor measurements collected during flight as well as intelligence data gathered before the mission. This input is by nature uncertain and we therefore investigate the influence of uncertainty in the input to the model. Finally we propose a number of decision support functions that can be developed based on the suggested model such as countermeasure management, mission planning and sensor management.