Optimization of the Multi-Source Data Fusion System for Integration on the Canadian Patrol Frigate

Abstract

Since 1991, the Research and Development (R&D) group at Lockheed Martin Canada (LM Canada) has been developing and demonstrating Level 1, 2, 3 and 4 data fusion, resource management and imaging technologies which will provide Observe-Orient-Decide-Act (OODA) decision making capabilities/tools in Naval and Airborne Command and Control (C2) for application on Canadian Patrol Frigates (CPF) and Canada’s CP-140 (Aurora) fixed wing aircraft. Over the last three years LM Canada, in collaboration with Canada’s Defence Research Establishment Valcartier (DREV), has also established a generic expert system infrastructure and has demonstrated that it is suitable for integrating these decision making technologies into real-time Command and Control System (CCS). The Multi-Source Data Fusion (MSDF) technology is the most mature among these decision making technologies and is likely to be integrated onboard a currently fielded CCS the soonest. Over the last two years the LM Canada R&D team has started the effort towards re-structuring and optimizing the proof-of-concept MSDF algorithms to establish a prototype which will be ready for integration on the existing platforms, specifically the CPF, and that can perform real-time tracking and identification by the end of the year 2000. This restructuring and optimization is occurring in phases.