A Differential Game Approach for Beyond Visual Range Tactics

TL;DR

This paper models a conflict between autonomous aerial vehicles using a differential game framework to derive optimal strategies for attack and defense in beyond visual range scenarios.

Contribution

It introduces a differential game approach with analytical solutions for optimal strategies in multi-stage aerial combat.

Findings

Derived analytical state-feedback strategies for attack and retreat stages.

Formulated the problem as a zero-sum differential game with different vehicle speeds.

Provided insights into strategic behavior in autonomous aerial conflicts.

Abstract

An operational relevant conflict between teams of autonomous vehicles in the Beyond Visual Range domain is addressed in this paper. Optimal strategies are designed in order for a team of air interceptors to protect a high value asset and block the attacking team at a safe distance from such asset. The attacking agents take specific roles of leader and wingman and also devise their own optimal strategies in order to launch an attack as close as possible from the asset. The problem is formulated as a zero-sum differential game between players with different speed over two stages: the attack and the retreat stages. For each stage the state-feedback optimal strategies of each player are derived in analytical form.