Battlefield Mapping by an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Swarm: Applied Systems Engineering Processes and Architectural Considerations From System of Systems

For many years, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Swarm (UAVs) have been implemented as stand-alone systems for various applications. Advances in technology necessitate the need for the complexity of the systems to rise to a level higher than ever. The capability needs today require the use of multiple systems to act together to accomplish a common goal that is unachievable with a single system. The use of multiple UAVs in an autonomous, or semi-autonomous, nature to accomplish this higher-level goal is known as a UAV Swarm system of systems. In designing a system with the complexity of a UAV Swarm there are many aspects that must be taken into careful consideration. This article will identify the SoS principles and considerations for developing and deploying a UAV Swarm for Battlefield Mapping using System Modeling Language. The design of the developed battlefield SoS will utilize standard Systems Engineering processes, adapted Systems Engineering processes for Systems of Systems, and architecture representation models. Each of these key utilities will be analyzed to provide guidance and considerations for SoS Engineering of the UAV Swarm.