Pilot-Assisted INS Aiding Using Bearings-Only Measurements Taken Over Time

Anthony Mirabile and Meir Pachter

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	It is proposed to develop a modernized method of aerial navigation using driftmeter measurements. Use of an electro-optical (E/O) system (LANTIRN or Sniper) for ground feature tracking by the pilot, and an independent altitude sensor (baro altimeter or radar altimeter) in conjunction with the INS, is envisioned. The idea is to use measurements taken by the pilot using the E/O system to aid an existing INS, thus automating the navigator’s function. The ground feature measurements from the E/O system and the INS output will be used to form measurements provided to a linear Kalman filter (KF) running on the navigation computer to accomplish the INS aiding action. The structured environment (constant speed, constant altitude, and wings level flight while on autopilot) justifies the linearization of the KF kinematic and measurement equations used during an INS aiding session. It is shown that after one short aiding period a 60% reduction in position error covariance is realized.
Published in:	NAVIGATION: Journal of the Institute of Navigation, Volume 64, Number 2
Pages:	183 - 196
Cite this article:	Export Citation https://doi.org/10.1002/navi.200
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