Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition And Reconnaissance Research Articles

Drone Deep Reinforcement Learning: A Review

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly being used in many challenging and diversified applications. These applications belong to the civilian and the military fields. To name a few; infrastructure inspection, traffic patrolling, remote sensing, mapping, surveillance, rescuing humans and animals, environment monitoring, and Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) operations. However, the use of UAVs in these applications needs a substantial level of autonomy. In other words, UAVs should have the ability to accomplish planned missions in unexpected situations without requiring human intervention. To ensure this level of autonomy, many artificial intelligence algorithms were designed. These algorithms targeted the guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) of UAVs. In this paper, we described the state of the art of one subset of these algorithms: the deep reinforcement learning (DRL) techniques. We made a detailed description of them, and we deduced the current limitations in this area. We noted that most of these DRL methods were designed to ensure stable and smooth UAV navigation by training computer-simulated environments. We realized that further research efforts are needed to address the challenges that restrain their deployment in real-life scenarios.

Design Criteria of a UAV for ISTAR and Remote Sensing Applications

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is a multi-role avionic system used for many applications. Photogrammetry is the art and science of locating and measuring the geometric property of spatial objects from photographs captured remotely using sensors from air and space. This paper discusses the design of a new integrated system combining the capability of three different technologies, viz. UAV, photogrammetry and artificial intelligence to carry out intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) applications. The design criteria of such a UAV are proposed in the form of min–max conditions of these associated technologies. This paper also discusses the improved photogrammetric applications that can be performed using a UAV and artificial intelligence. The size weight area and power (SWAP) constraints in designing such a UAV for photogrammetric and remote sensing applications are discussed in this paper.

Armed, unmanned, and in high demand: the drivers behind combat drones proliferation in the Middle East

ABSTRACT Current dynamics in UCAV proliferation in the Middle East signal that combat drones have become key strategic enablers for state actors in the region, and are no longer seen as an optional asset. With the development of a multitude of indigenous UCAV projects, and the arrival of Chinese-made armed drones on the international market, military procurement in the Middle East has entered a new phase, in which possessing armed drone capabilities is becoming the norm. This article examines the operational and strategic considerations driving Middle Eastern states’ UCAV procurement policies, analysing those countries who have been focusing on armed drones for combat purposes and additional intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) needs. The main drivers behind this trend are the operational and strategic advantages brought about by UCAVs, where the benefits related to cost, reliability, and operational risk mitigation are matched by the increased ability to project power that the platform allows, either through deniability or by making UCAVs available to proxies and allies.

Modeling of Solar Electric Propulsion System for UAVs

UAVs are growing their importance in both civil and military applications. The endurance of UAVs are related to their on board fuel carrying capacity which is limited by the weight class of aircraft. There is a need for long endurance UAVs for persistent Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance(ISTAR) missions. One of the solutions to overcome the endurance limitations for usage of UAV is the renewable energy. Among all renewable energy, solar energy is found more economical. Electrical powered aircraft/(UAV) propulsion system uses electrical energy to change the velocity of UAV. Electric propulsion system is now mature and widely used technology on spacecraft. In this work, UAV with solar cells on the surface of the wings as well as on board energy storage is discussed. This paper quantifies the requirement for perpetual endurance in solar-powered flight.

섬광에 의하여 사람 눈에 입사되는 광 에너지

Since a flash light produces enormous amount of photon energy in short time, not only electro-optic and infrared(EO/IR) systems utilized for Intelligence Surveillance Target Acquisition and reconnaissance(ISTAR) activities but also the people of a combat field can be severely influenced by a high flash light bursting in front of them. The people who bumped into a flash could not escape such enormous amount of photon energy, resulting in being blind temporarily or even permanently. In order to investigate the effect of a high flash source on a human eye, it is essential to know how much photon energy be incident into an eye from the flash source. In this paper, the model of irradiated photon energy to individuals from some flashes is proposed. The proposed irradiated photon energy per unit area of retina is based on taking the situation to be modeled as a simple EO system in front of a flash light. The validity of proposed model was proved by the application of the model to human on the surface of the earth with the well known light source, the Sun. The model of this study can be utilized to simulate the retinal intensity and energy of a flash for various conditions such as the illumination levels, the distance from a flash busting site, luminous intensity and time of a flash.

Effective Range of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in the Malaysian Army Tactical Operations

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) has been used in military application even during the conflicts in World War II. The utilization of UAV was further expanded during the Vietnam War and the role of “eye in the sky” has seen UAV became the ultimate ISTAR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance) tool for almost all conflicts. The evolution of UAV in various sizes and features will see UAV saturating the battlefield theater’s cloud in the future. This paper is to present the concept of operations of UAV in the military, segmented by units in battle to enable researchers to concentrate their research on types of UAV to suit the needs of the Malaysian Army. Using effective firepower range of all Malaysian Army arsenals and the commonality in terms of tasking, this study is able to establish the classes in terms of range needed for UAV in the Malaysian Army. From the observation, it is clear that the majority of the intended UAV will be operating in the less than 3 km combat radius.