Simulation Evaluation of Two Aided Targeting Systems

Research was conducted at the Crew Station Research and Development Facility on the effectiveness and ease of use of three targeting systems. The study examined the ability of a copilot/gunner to perform a reconnaissance of mechanized forces in a battle array. Level of aided system performance and density of target objects in the threat array were the independent variables. Aided system performance was characterized by a hit rate per target object and false alarm rate per scan. The hit rate was either 0.6 or 0.9. False alarm rates were determined as a function of hit rate and system sensitivity. Two aided systems were investigated. A single-sensor aided system produced 3.6 or 19.8 false alarms per scan. A fused sensor aided system produced 0.6 or 4.5 false alarms per scan. A manual baseline produced no hits or false alarms. Target density varied from zero target objects present in the scanned area to 14 target objects in the scanned area. Time and accuracy in several task areas were the dependent measures along with subjective assessments by the aviators. Performance was examined as a function of targeting system, aided systems criterion (hit rate/false alarm rate), and object type (target object/non-target object). Exposure time while performing the task was reduced substantially with the aided systems, with no loss of target hand-off list accuracy. The fused sensor system showed lower time to construct the target hand-off list and a slightly lower false alarm rate than the other systems.