The paper presents the concept of mission planning for a short-range tactical class Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) that recognizes targets using the sensors it has been equipped with. Tasks carried out by such systems are mainly associated with aerial reconnaissance employing Electro Optical (EO)/Near Infra-Red (NIR) heads, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), and Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) systems. UAVs of this class are most often used in NATO armies to support artillery actions, etc. The key task, carried out during their activities, is to plan a reconnaissance mission in which the flight route will be determined that optimally uses the sensors’ capabilities. The paper describes the scenario of determining the mission plan and, in particular, the UAV flight routes to which the recognition targets are assigned. The problem was decomposed into several subproblems: assigning reconnaissance tasks to UAVs with choosing the reconnaissance sensors and designating an initial UAV flight plan. The last step is planning a detailed flight route taking into account the time constraints imposed on recognition and the characteristics of the reconnaissance sensors. The final step is to generate the real UAV flight trajectory based on its technical parameters. The algorithm for determining exact flight routes for the indicated reconnaissance purposes was also discussed, taking into account the presence of enemy troops and available air corridors. The task scheduling algorithm—Vehicle Route Planning with Time Window (VRPTW)—using time windows is formulated in the form of the Mixed Integer Linear Problem (MILP). The MILP formulation was used to solve the UAV flight route planning task. The algorithm can be used both when planning individual UAV missions and UAV groups cooperating together. The approach presented is a practical way of establishing mission plans implemented in real unmanned systems.

This article presents an energy-efficient method of controlling unmanned aircraft (fixed-wing UAVs), which consists of three groups of algorithms: aerial vehicle route planning, in-flight control, and algorithms to correct the preplanned flight trajectory. All algorithms shall take into account the existence of obstacles that the UAV must avoid and wind gusts in the UAV’s area of operation. Tests were carried out on the basis of the UAV mathematical model, stabilization and navigation algorithms, and Dryden turbulence model, considering the parameters of the UAV’s propulsion system. The work includes a detailed description of constructing a network of connection that is used to plan a UAV mission. It presents the algorithm for determining the actual distances between the different points in the field of action, which takes into account the existence of obstacles. The algorithm shall be based on methods for determining the flight trajectory on a hexagonal grid. It presents the developed proprietary UAV path planning algorithm based on a model from a group of algorithms of mixed integer linear problem (MILP) optimization. It presents the manner in which the pre-prepared flight path was used by UAV controllers that supervised the flight along the preset path. It details the architecture of contemporary unmanned aerial vehicles, which have embedded capability to realize autonomous missions, which require the integration of UAV systems into the route planning algorithms set out in the article. Particular attention has been paid to the planning and implementation methods of UAV missions under conditions where wind gusts are present, which support the determination of UAV flight routes to minimize the vehicle’s energy consumption. The models developed were tested within a computer architecture based on ARM processors using the hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) technique, which is commonly used to control unmanned vehicles. The presented solution makes use of two computers: FCC (flight control computer) based on a real-time operating system (RTOS) and MC (mission computer) based on Linux and integrated with the Robot Operating System (ROS). A new contribution of this work is the integration of planning and monitoring methods for the implementation of missions aimed at minimizing energy consumption of the vehicle, taking into account wind conditions.

This article presents a framework for planning a drone swarm mission in a hostile environment. Elements of the planning framework are discussed in detail, including methods of planning routes for drone swarms using mixed integer linear programming (MILP) and methods of detecting potentially dangerous objects using EO/IR camera images and synthetic aperture radar (SAR). Methods of detecting objects in the field are used in the mission planning process to re-plan the swarm’s flight paths. The route planning model is discussed using the example of drone formations managed by one UAV that communicates through another UAV with the ground control station (GCS). This article presents practical examples of using algorithms for detecting dangerous objects for re-planning of swarm routes. A novelty in the work is the development of these algorithms in such a way that they can be implemented on mobile computers used by UAVs and integrated with MILP tasks. The methods of detection and classification of objects in real time by UAVs equipped with SAR and EO/IR are presented. Different sensors require different methods to detect objects. In the case of infrared or optoelectronic sensors, a convolutional neural network is used. For SAR images, a rule-based system is applied. The experimental results confirm that the stream of images can be analyzed in real-time.

The article presents real-time object detection and classification methods by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with a synthetic aperture radar (SAR). Two algorithms have been extensively tested: classic image analysis and convolutional neural networks (YOLOv5). The research resulted in a new method that combines YOLOv5 with post-processing using classic image analysis. It is shown that the new system improves both the classification accuracy and the location of the identified object. The algorithms were implemented and tested on a mobile platform installed on a military-class UAV as the primary unit for online image analysis. The usage of objective low-computational complexity detection algorithms on SAR scans can reduce the size of the scans sent to the ground control station.

The paper presents the concept of planning the optimal trajectory of fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of a short-range tactical class, whose task is to recognize a set of ground objects as a part of a reconnaissance mission. Tasks carried out by such systems are mainly associated with an aerial reconnaissance using Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) systems and Synthetic Aperture Radars (SARs) to support military operations. Execution of a professional reconnaissance of the indicated objects requires determining the UAV flight trajectory in the close neighborhood of the target, in order to collect as much interesting information as possible. The paper describes the algorithm for determining UAV flight trajectories, which is tasked with identifying the indicated objectives using the sensors specified in the order. The presence of UAV threatening objects is taken into account. The task of determining the UAV flight trajectory for recognition of the target is a component of the planning process of the tactical class UAV mission, which is also presented in the article. The problem of determining the optimal UAV trajectory has been decomposed into several subproblems: determining the reconnaissance flight method in the vicinity of the currently recognized target depending on the sensor used and the required parameters of the recognition product (photo, film, or SAR scan), determining the initial possible flight trajectory that takes into account potential UAV threats, and planning detailed flight trajectory considering the parameters of the air platform based on the maneuver planning algorithm designed for tactical class platforms. UAV route planning algorithms with time constraints imposed on the implementation of individual tasks were used to solve the task of determining UAV flight trajectories. The problem was formulated in the form of a Mixed Integer Linear Problem (MILP) model. For determining the flight path in the neighborhood of the target, the optimal control algorithm was also presented in the form of a MILP model. The determined trajectory is then corrected based on the construction algorithm for determining real UAV flight segments based on Dubin curves.