Toward an Expert Aid for Tactical Air Targeting

Describes initial efforts to apply recent advances in knowledge engineering to the domain of tactical air targeting. Tactical targeting is a critical function in war requiring many complex, heuristic, and time-stressed decisions by the targeteer. A knowledge-engineering approach to providing an aid for this process suits the domain. First, knowledge employed by targeteers does not lend itself to straightforward computer implementation. Second, no standard approach exists for targeting. Third, by "engineering" targeteers' knowledge, a basis is provided for experimentation and reformulation of targeting concepts and practices. Finally, the operational environment requires effective human interaction and ready program modification. Knowledge engineering has greater potential to meet these needs than other programming approaches. Our research tests the hypotheses that an expert system would improve tactical targeting and that knowledge engineering can be extended to meet the task. The Note describes the technical and targeting environments, early project experiments, the latest targeting program, TATR, written in ROSIE-I, and our current approach using ROSIE-II.