Sensor fusion with application to Electronic Warfare

The Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate, Survivability/Camouflage, Concealment and Deception Division mission is to provide affordable aircraft and ground electronic sensors/systems and signature management technologies which enhance survivability and lethality of U.S. and International Forces. Since 1992, efforts have been under tah-en in the area of Situational Awareness and Dominant Battlespace Knowledge. These include the Radar Deception and Jamming Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD), Survivability and Targeting System Integration, Integrated Situation Awareness and Targeting ATD, Combat Identification, Ground Vehicle Situational Awareness, and Combined Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) Target Correlation. This paper will address the Situational Awareness process as it relates to the integration of Electronic Warfare (EW) with targeting and intelligence and information warfare systems. Discussion will be presented on the Sensor Fusion, Situation Assessment and Response Management Strategies. Sensor Fusion includes the association, correlation, and combination of data and information from single and multiple sources to achieve refined position and identity estimates, and complete and timely assessments of situations and threats as well as their significance. Situation Assessment includes the process of interpreting and expressing the environment based on situation abstract products and information fi om technical and doctrinal data bases. Finally, Response Management provides the centralized, adaptable control of all renewable and expendable countermeasure assets resulting in optimization of the response to the threat environment.