Note: All of these are fictional and any relationship to any current project is purely coincidental.
We have a UAV payload pod that contains a Electro-Optical Infrared
(EO/IR) imaging system. Currently the way we test the positioning
system is to strap the pod to a Black Hawk (UH-60) and fly it around
our test facility - we then compare the location taken on the images
to the location the GPS reported. If they are similar, we call it a
success. We'd like to develop a method of injecting "canned" flight
paths into the pod in such a way that we can now test it on the
ground.
We're building a new satellite communiation system to talk with our
troops overseas. The new satellite will be in a Molniya style orbit
around the earth at an orbital inclination of 63.4 degrees above the
equatorial plane. We need to develop a simulator to determine the
look angles from any position on the ground to the satellite and align
the antennas appropriately.
A few weeks ago, we captured an Bekibekistanstani UCAV (Unmanned
Combat Aerial Vehicle) that happened to stray into our airspace.
Most UAVs in general use what's known as 'Fly-by-wire', in that
they require a human pilot to fly it remotely. What is unusual
about the design of this UCAV is that we discovered it to be
completely autonomous. Commands were uploaded to it remotely
via 'waypoints' and 'tasks'. Typical waypoints included
'Fly to here' and "Don't fly here" (also known as 'No-Fly-Zones')
while typical tasks included 'Take Picture', 'Listen for Radio',
and 'Fire Missile'. We've been asked to build a mock-up of this
command and control system for both the ground-control segment
and the air-execute segment. We have at your disposal the
Communications satellite described by 'Project Two' so that
it can relay your commands the world over.