EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif -- A Global Hawk sortie confirmed the first successful operation of a German High Altitude Long endurance Intelligence (HALE ELINT) sensor. The UAV picked up radar transmissions from an emitter located at China Lake NAWC and forwarded them to a German Ground Support Station. This was the first step toward the possible development of a German-owned and operated Global Hawk derivative, the EuroHawk. The EuroHawk was being designed to replace the Breguet Atlantic aircraft and to fly operational signals intelligence missions.
It is important to establish an early warning system using, for instance, an airborne platform such as a high altitude long endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to address security issues, such as threats of a missile strike by a militant neighbor on a friendly country's territories. The problem we investigate deals with an imagery intelligence sensor allocation schedule for HALE UAVs operating adjacent to a dynamic and anti-access area denial environment to maximize the situational awareness of the decision makers. We introduce an efficient heuristic method, the one-stage look-ahead procedure, which is combined with a rolling horizon scheme to keep up with a rapid operational tempo.