## 3 System Design
### System Architecture
Mission Management Communications: Mission management communications will provide mission status, priority, tasking, and threat information for other vehicles. The communications executive will also update this information from any received data for processing via the mission executive. 4. Mission Sensors Communications: The mission sensor data will be processed and sent separately from other priority tasks (mission management, planning and intent) to provide external users with specific sensor data for analysis and use. By handling the mission sensor data separately from the other data, it prevents critical data being held up by sensor data dissemination. Mission and vehicle tasking data should take priority over data dissemination tasks. This separation will also enable a system to have separate communication systems for data and mission tasks. 5. Planning and Intent: The planning and intent data will provide current information on where the vehicle is, where it is going and the intents of its upcoming efforts. This will allow any other vehicles or operators in the mission to monitor and understand the plans of the vehicle. This information will enable users and vehicles to make decisions and recommendations on mission plans and efforts. 5. Vehicle Management The Vehicle Management system is responsible for the control of the vehicle and systems. The flight control system, vehicle subsystems, vehicle state (via Prognostics and Health Monitoring (PHM) and sensors) all reside within the vehicle management system. Vehicle management is well understood and is standard in most manned and unmanned aircraft. While there is significant research and work ongoing in this area, especially in the areas of PHM and fault tolerant operations, the underlying requirements and architecture are not significantly different from existing platforms. There are five primary areas within the vehicle management system. 1. Vehicle Management Executive: The Vehicle Management Executive (VME) manages the vehicle systems control and processing. The mission executive provides the tasking that the vehicle must perform and provide for processing. The data provided is then sent to the flight control systems, vehicle systems, and any other ancillary systems installed that require control. The VME also accepts sensor data and PHM data for processing and determination of whether degraded systems exist and if actions need to be taken. This data is also provided to the mission executive for mission tasking decisions. 2. Flight Control Systems: The Flight Control Systems (FCS) of a vehicle can include propulsion, flight control surfaces, flight control sensors, and any other system required for vehicle control. The FCS design and performance is unique to any given vehicle and needs to be provided to the path planner for determination of proper, efficient, and effective path planning. 3. Vehicle Subsystems: Vehicle subsystems can include ancillary systems such as electrical, hydraulic, environmental controls, and landing gear. These subsystems provide critical functionality that support the primary flight controls and mission sensors. Subsystems are generally well understood for existing areas but new and improved capabilities (especially in electrical power capabilities) continue to improve the state of these systems. 4. Prognostics and Health Monitoring: Prognostics and Health Monitoring (PHM) can provide an estimate of current and future health and capabilities of installed systems. Significant research has been performed and continues to be performed in this area. Fault tolerant design and functions also continue to be researched and can be integrated with PHM functionalities. PHM may or may not be present on a given vehicle but can provide enhanced control and insight into current and future performance. 5. Vehicle Sensors: Vehicle Sensors can be numerous and diverse across a vehicle. Depending on the size of the vehicle and criticality of the system there may be minimal or extensive sensing.