Optimal Path Planning for Aircraft to Reduce Radar Detectability using Clutter Effect

초록

This study proposes an optimal flight path planning method to minimize the radar detectability of unmanned aerial vehicles. To this end, a virtual mission environment was constructed by applying the Lambert conformal conic projection to digital terrain elevation data. Radars were placed at arbitrary locations within the mission area, and terrain-induced visibility was analyzed and reflected in the detectability assessment. The detectability metric was defined as the signal-to-interference ratio, which incorporates the effects of ground clutter into the conventional signal-to-noise ratio. The ground clutter was modeled using the Constant Gamma Model. For optimal path generation, a particle swarm optimization algorithm was employed. The proposed method was evaluated on both simplified and real-world terrain datasets, and the resulting waypoint sequences successfully guided the UAV along routes characterized by low detectability, short flight distance, and frequent traversal through radar shadow regions.

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