Design and development of aircraft vulnerability assessment software system

The basic aircraft vulnerability assessment methods were presented. A generic aircraft vulnerability assessment software system was designed and developed. The system consists of five basic modules: data input module, graphical display module, threat input module, calculation method and system setting module and results output module. The system can provide vulnerability assessment results including the probability of kill and vulnerable area of aircraft or components at the single hit and multiple hits by nonexplosive penetrators of arbitrary aspect, the vulnerability at the threat of missile spray fragments, and the plotting of the blast vulnerability envelops at the typical blast planes of aircraft. Compared with the existing assessment software or programs, the developed system has the following advantages: 1) taking account of the ricochet in assessing the aircraft vulnerability at the threat of nonexplosive penetrators or fragments; 2) taking account of the effect of redundant components on the vulnerability at the threat of missile fragments; 3) providing the multiple output formats of assessment results. The above mentioned 1), 2) advantages make vulnerability assessment more realistic. Application shows that the universal system is helpful to the survivability enhancement or vulnerability reduction design of aircraft, the system can also apply to the vulnerability assessment of cruise missile, satellite and armor vehicle, et. al.