SCHEDULING FOR A MULTIFUNCTION PHASED-ARRAY RADAR SYSTEM

A multifunction radar is a new, complex, radar system which combines t he previously isolated tasks of searching volumes of space, tracking t argets and guiding missiles. This study was instigated by the Defence Research Agency who require scheduling rules for their newly developed multifunction radar system. The primary interest when looking at the operational efficiency of this type of radar system is to schedule the radar jobs effectively. These jobs take the form of a coupled task wh ich consists of two distinct operations that require processing in a p redetermined order and at a specified interval apart. In the radar sce nario, each job is cyclic in nature with its own due date and processi ng time. The need for an on-line scheduler restricts the radar control ler to use heuristic methods. A detailed functional simulation model, which generates a multifunction radar environment, has been developed to aid the evaluation of the various scheduling heuristics that we hav e proposed.