Control Barrier Functions as Autonomous Pilots for Low-Observability of Aircraft Against Mobile Radar

This paper aims to mitigate the vulnerability of an aircraft to radar detection arising from inherent design limitations by proposing a technique to generate maneuvers that reduce the aircraft's radar cross-section (RCS) below a specified threshold when exposed to dynamic (mobile) radar threats. The proposed approach utilizes control barrier functions and exploits the relationship between control inputs and the RCS, with the required RCS database for the baseline aircraft generated through numerical analyzes. The outcomes are contrasted with a virtual path that omits RCS constraints and maintains the aircraft's rotational attitude stationary. Simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology, as evidenced by a comparison with the virtual trajectory, where the RCS reaches up to 25 dBsm. In contrast, the CBF-pilot approach keeps the RCS at the predefined threshold of 0 dBsm throughout the maneuver.