Event-Driven System Architecture for the Airborne ISR System

In this paper, we present an event-driven system architecture utilizing database triggers to facilitate communication among various subsystems of the Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) system [1] [2]. Unlike traditional request-response-based architectures, this modern approach enhances scalability, resilience, responsiveness, and decoupling across ISR subsystems. The ISR system is a complex air-to-ground surveillance platform comprising airborne sensors, an Operator Display System (ODS), an Intelligence Exploitation Engine (IEE), a Mission Controller (MC), a Mission Database, and Mission Storage. The airborne sensors capture ground imagery, while the IMINT [3] operator performs intelligence analysis with the assistance of AI/ML models hosted on the IEE. To ensure fault tolerance, the IEE is deployed as an n-node cluster. A Workload Manager (WLM) distributes intelligence exploitation requests across the cluster using database-stored procedures. Events are generated either manually by the IMINT operator through the ODS user interface or automatically by the MC. These events are logged into the mission database, which generates the trigger for the corresponding modules of the ISR system to execute specific functions. These functions include invoking target detection algorithms, displaying results, and handling various system parameters. The event-handling logic is implemented through stored procedures in the database. This architecture introduces a novel method for developing ISR system modules independently, reducing inter-dependencies and enhancing modularity. Consequently, the system achieves higher cohesion and making it adaptable to modern ISR system architecture requirements.