Application of an associative processor to aircraft tracking

Abstract

Aircraft tracking is the process in which successive scans of radar target returns are used to derive the estimated position and velocity of an aircraft. The process consists of sensor report to track correlation as well as smoothing and prediction of track position. With an associative processor the tracking algorithms are changed from those used with a sequential processor. These changes exploit the parallel processing capabilities of the associative processor. Lower track drop and track swap as well as improved track performance should result. The functional operation of the associative processor based system is described and timing data are presented. Approximately 6.7 percent of the associative processor capacity is utilized for the radar tracking function in a 1000-aircraft two-sensor environment.