Research on the maneuver decision method for multi-aircraft formation air combat of UCAVs based on the improved dominance function

Multi-UCAV coordinated air combat will be one of the main combat modes of UCAV in the future. For the problem of dual-UAV formation air combat maneuver decision-making in UCAV coordinated air combat, an improved evaluation function UCAV dual-UAV formation air combat maneuver decision-making method was proposed based on the effective integration of prior knowledge such as air-to-air missile attack area and unescapable area. Firstly, the air combat situation evaluation function was improved based on the attack area and unescapable area of air-to-air missiles. Secondly, the basic operation modes of aircraft were combined with typical air combat tactical actions to establish a UCAV air combat maneuver action library. Finally, a simulation case was constructed, and the simulation analysis was conducted on the maneuver trajectory, advantage function,and target attack selection. The simulation experimental results show that the formation air combat maneuver decision model based on the improved evaluation function can enable the UCAV dual-UAV formation to make the correct decision against the enemy’s strategy. This method provides a reference for further research in the field of multi-UCAV air combat decision-making.