Mechatronics Department, Mechanical Engineering Division, Aeronautics Institute of Technology (ITA), São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil
Autonomous Computational Systems Laboratory (LAB-SCA), Computer Science Division, Aeronautics Institute of Technology (ITA), São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil
Mechatronics Department, Mechanical Engineering Division, Aeronautics Institute of Technology (ITA), São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil
Autonomous Computational Systems Laboratory (LAB-SCA), Computer Science Division, Aeronautics Institute of Technology (ITA), São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil
Mechatronics Department, Mechanical Engineering Division, Aeronautics Institute of Technology (ITA), São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil
The ability of multiple manned and unmanned aircraft systems to cooperatively engage and disable an aerial threat plays a decisive role in modern warfare scenarios. In this paper, we apply key methods to enable the so-called cooperative threat engagement capability among multiple networked agents, e.g., a swarm of drones, with combat and communication capabilities. In particular, this research combines AI-based decision-making and control techniques for a swarm of loyal wingman drones to coordinate efficient defense actions in a cooperative and autonomous manner. We apply these concepts in a defense scenario that is modeled to analyze the loyal wingman concept, which we consider an interesting testbed for cooperative decision-making and low-level control techniques. The investigated methods were implemented in a realistic 3D UAV simulator for demonstration and evaluation.
