System Partitioning To Provide For Automatic Mission And Vehicle Management

The design of military heilcopters such as LHX Is beIng driven toward automation in an effort to execute missions of Increasing complexity while simultaneously reducing crew workload requirements. Under the battle doctrine of Army 21, missions will demand better understanding of the battlefield situation by the LHX crew and a higher degree of management of multi-vehicle assault teams. The LHX must provide a highly self-sufficient capability within the scope of a highly coordinated effort. The LHX Scout/Attack (SCAT) vehicle must perform target acquisition and designation, reconnaissance and surveillance, air defense suppression against air-to-air airborne and ground threats, antlarmor, containment, and "deadly harassment" missions. Furthermore, to fully support the LHX fleet affordability concept, a single crewmember design is considered necessary.