Crew Size Evaluation for Tactical All-Weather Strike Aircraft
Abstract
This research and development obtained significant information necessary to assess the requirements for one- versus two-man aircraft in air-to- ground strike missions using synthetic aperture radar (SAR). A real-time man- in-the-loop simulation was conducted in which one- and two-man TAC crews performed aircraft flight control, aircraft systems management, communications, threat detection, countermeasures, and SAR target acquisition tasks. Threat detection and response tasks were employed to vary crew workload and to create inside-cockpit and outside-cockpit visual tasks. A shallow interdiction air-to- ground strike mission with ingress to enemy territory, penetration of enemy territory, and SAR tactical target acquisition phases was simulated. One- and two-man aircrew flight control performance, threat detection and response, and SAR target acquisition performance were measured. In general, two-man crews were superior to one-man crews at aircraft flight control, outside-cockpit threat detection, and SAR target acquisition tasks. The dominant superiority of two- man crews, however, was for outside-cockpit threat detection. A major advantage for a two-place SAR air-to-ground strike aircraft, therefore, is the improved visual surveillance achieved with two crewmen and the resulting increased survivability when over hostile enemy territory. The detailed simulation procedures and results of this work and the implications to advanced synthetic aperture radar airborne strike systems are discussed in the report.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1977
- Accession Number
- ADA041675
Entities
People
- D. W. Craig
- L. A. Scanlan
- M. L. Hershberger
Organizations
- Hughes Aircraft Company