Validation of the Realistic Air Defense Engagement System (RADES)

• Main Authors: Drewfs, Paul R, Barber, Andrew V, Johnson, David M, Frederickson, Edward W
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Subjects: ACCURACY; AIR DEFENSE; AIRCRAFT; Antiaircraft Defense Systems; CHAPARRAL MISSILES; COMMUNICATION AND RADIO SYSTEMS; COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION; CREWS; DATA ACQUISITION; ELECTRONICS; FLIGHT PATHS; FORWARD AREA AIR DEFENSE SYSTEMS; GUIDED MISSILES; HUMANS; IDENTIFICATION; INTERFACES; KILL PROBABILITIES; LIMITATIONS; MISS DISTANCE; PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; POSITION(LOCATION); PREDICTIONS; RADES(REALISTIC AIR DEFENSE ENGAGEMENT SYSTEMS); REACTION TIME; SCALE MODELS; SHORT RANGE(DISTANCE); SIMULATION; SIMULATORS; STINGER MISSILES; SURFACE TO AIR MISSILES; Surface-launched Guided Missiles; TEAMS(PERSONNEL); THEORY; VALIDATION; WEAPON SYSTEMS; WEAPONS

This report describes the Realistic Air Defense Engagement System (RADES) and research performed to assess its validity. RADES is an air defense simulator consisting of subscale aircraft, an aircraft position/location system, air defense weapon systems, and an electronic interface that connects the weapon to a data collection and communication system. Short Range Air Defense (SHORAD) crews are brought to the RADES range; the weapon is connected to the interface, and the crew is given an operations order, alerted, and cued to the azimuth of the incoming aircraft. Data are automatically collected from the weapon and crew while they engage the RADES aircraft. Data were collected from four Chaparral crews and six Stinger teams during the spring of 1984. Data included times and ranges for critical engagement events, as well as aircraft identification accuracies and kill or miss data. Data from these tests were analyzed and compared both to theoretical predictions derived from a computer model that took as input known physical limitations of weapons, human reaction times, and the flight path of the aircraft and to performance data obtained in earlier full- scale studies reported in the air defense literature. In both cases the data obtained from RADES were consistent with the criteria established for empirical validity. Keywords: Forward area air defense, Air defense short range(distance), Chaparral missiles, Stinger missiles, Surface to air missiles.