AsaFG: A Human-in-the-Loop Integration Module for Air Combat Simulations

This work presents AsaFG, a human-in-the-loop integration module that connects the Aerospace Simulation Environment (ASA), a constructive simulation environment for military scenarios, with the FlightGear flight simulator. The module enables real-time interaction between human pilots and simulated entities in air combat scenarios, allowing pilots to assume roles within simulated missions and interact with autonomous agents. This integration enables direct interaction between constructive and virtual components, contributing to more realistic and immersive air combat simulations. The work also discusses key challenges during the integration process, including data exchange, control interfaces, and missile modeling differences between the platforms. A specific contribution involves adjusting the missile model in FlightGear to closely match ASA’s implementation, enabling consistent simulation behavior across systems. Validation includes performance metrics and experiments with Brazilian Air Force pilots across three operational scenarios. The results demonstrate the module’s applicability for training, operational analysis, and studies on human-autonomy teaming in simulated air combat scenarios.