Date of Award
3-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Systems Engineering
Department
Department of Systems Engineering and Management
First Advisor
Kip E. Johnson, PhD
Abstract
In contested air environments, safe coordination between decision-makers is paramount. Although the Department of Defense (DoD) prioritizes the development of Artificially Intelligent (AI) wingmen for air combat, a lack of methodology exists to design safe, holistic coordination between human and autonomous wingmen in the same environment. This thesis delivers a framework using Systems Theoretic Process Analysis Extended for Coordination (STPA-Coord) to analyze and design holistic coordination for the Loyal Wingman concept in an Air Dominance mission. STPA-Coord is a safety and hazard analysis process that uses Systems Theory to analyze and design coordination between decisionmakers in a system-of-systems architecture. Using the proposed framework, this thesis delivered 290 loss scenarios and causal factors, ultimately resulting in 83 design considerations to apply to a Loyal Wingman architecture. Additionally, this thesis used a Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) approach to conduct the STPA-Coord using Risk Analysis and Assessment Modeling Language (RAAML). This thesis proposes modifications to SysML’s RAAML guidance to optimize STPA documentation in SysML and to account for STPA’s coordination extension. Results also describe the observed benefits of using model-based methodology over traditional document-based methodologies to conduct STPA-Coord analyses and describe the time required to conduct an STPA-Coord in SysML.
AFIT Designator
AFIT-ENV-MS-24-M-153
Recommended Citation
Pennington, Elizabeth S., "A Model-Based and System-Theoretic Approach to Design Advanced Autonomy for Air Dominance Missions: A Loyal Wingman Case Study" (2024). Theses and Dissertations. 7765.
https://scholar.afit.edu/etd/7765
Comments
A 12-month embargo was observed for posting this work on AFIT Scholar.
Distribution Statement A, Approved for Public Release. PA case number on file.