The ARTEMIS Airto-Air Combat Model

Operations Research is an important element supporting the decision process in major Air Force acquisition programs and must often address itself to a range of issues of varying complexity. An issue of particular complexity is air-to-air combat. Air-to-Air combat is a highly dynamic interaction between, possibly several, high performance aircraft employing sophisticated weapon and sensor systems and applying novel tactics designed to yield an advantage against the opponent. The combination of numerous entities, multiple system capabilities and complex tactics makes the air-to-air combat problem an especially challenging area of military operations research. Currently, Australia is evaluating the capabilities of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) towards possible acquisition of this aircraft to replace Australia's ageing F/A-18 and F-111 fleets. Evaluation of the air-to-air combat performance of the F-35 JSF is a central element of this assessment. Building on the body of analytical studies completed in previous study phases, this evaluation will employ a new air-to-air combat simulation model currently under development, the AiR Tactical Engagement MIssion Simulator (ARTEMIS) to explore issues specific to the F-35 JSF. The requirement for such a model follows an assessment of available air combat models in Australia and overseas. ARTEMIS is based on a flexible simulation architecture and employs teamed intelligent agent technology to model complex multi-aircraft tactics and Command & Control structures. This paper will describe the ARTEMIS model and the context of its development. The paper will then be extended to a consideration on how ARTEMIS will be employed in operations research and the issues that will be addressed. 1 Brian Hanlon has since left DSTO and now works for the Department of the Treasury of the Australian Government. 2 Kurt Bieri is a KESEM International employee engaged by DSTO as the Software Project Manager for the ARTEMIS project. 1. THE HUNT CONTINUES ARTEMIS is the latest in a series of simulators developed by Air Operations Research Branch (AOR) of the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO). Rather than report only on the technology behind ARTEMIS (Section 2), this paper will also provide: insights into the development of a simulation where there is a large and diverse stakeholder base (Section 3) including a discussion of some of the project management challenges; the purpose to which the simulator will be put and a sample scenario (Section 4); an indication of future directions for ARTEMIS and related technology (Section 5). 1.1 Four and Counting In the lineage outlined below ARTEMIS (and other simulation systems currently under development at AOR are representative of fourth generation systems. Over the course of a decade the capability of AOD to develop and deploy large simulations has improved. The maturation of this capability is a software engineering story, at least partly a project management story; and points to a change in the ways that AOR does business that have improved verification and validation and taken AOR in a direction toward experimentation and the study of future warfighting concepts (such as network centric warfare). This paper sets out to tell this story in the context of ARTEMIS, the latest and (arguably) most sophisticated simulation system as yet developed by AOR.