System and method for calculation and display of formation flight information …

Description (excerpt)

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) This application is a continuation-in-part (CIP) of application Ser. No. 18/097,669 filed Jan. 17, 2023. The '669 application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/301,482 filed Jan. 20, 2022. Copies of these applications are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties for all purposes. GOVERNMENT INTEREST The invention described herein may be manufactured, used, and licensed by or for the United States Government. BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field The present invention pertains to formation flight information, and more particularly to the calculation and display of predicted trajectory data, collision avoidance alerts, time on target details, and chalk-specific information on an augmented reality device, using navigational tools to include inertial and global positioning systems. 2. Background Art The following is a tabulation of some prior art that presently appears relevant (and are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety): U.S. Patents Patent Number Kind Code Issue Date Patentee U.S. Pat. No. 6,926,233 B1 Aug. 9, 2005 Corcoran, III U.S. Pat. No. 7,024,309 B2 Apr. 4, 2006 Doane U.S. Pat. No. 8,949,090 B2 Feb. 3, 2015 Whitehead et al. U.S. Pat. No. 9,852,547 B2 Dec. 26, 2017 Bostick et al. U.S. Pat. No. 10,301,037 B2 May 28, 2019 Frolov et al. 3. Background The Federal Aviation Administration defines formation flight in 14 C.F.R. § 91.111 as operating near other aircraft, along with a series of operational requirements regarding collision hazards and passengers for hire. Generally, formation flight consists of two or more aircraft ordered by serial and chalk, with a clear and well-defined delineation of in-air responsibilities, and a shared objective. Safe formation flight requires a thorough understanding of route structures, aircraft aerodynamics, procedures relating to lost visual contact and lost communication, in-flight link-up procedures, lead change procedures, emergency procedures, and more. Timely, tight, and precise formation flight is an essential task for several military missions which collectively engage a wide range of rotary-wing and fixed-wing aircraft. The United States Army Aviation enterprise especially prides itself on its Air Assault mission-set, typically involving some combination of UH-60 Black Hawk and CH-47 Chinook helicopters. Air Assault is the strategic movement of Soldiers, typically light infantry, into and across the battlefield to seize and maintain critical territory. Air Assault further encompasses several unique capabilities to include fast-roping, rappelling, and special patrol insertion and extraction. The 101 st Airborne Division is the United States Army's light infantry division specializing in Air Assault operations, and Air Assault training is conducted at several specialized Air Assault schools across the United States. Formation flight, although a force multiplier on the battlefield, is inherently risky. There are a multitude of well-documented case studies detailing fatal formation flight accidents on the civilian and military side alike, the vast majority being mid-air collisions between formation aircraft caused by either failing to properly execute emergency procedures or failing to maintain situational awareness of nearby aircraft. Augmented reality displays provide situationally relevant information in real-time in both visually degraded environments (such as during nighttime operations) and environmentally hazardous environments (such as during formation flight). Army Aviators already train and maintain proficiency on military heads-up displays during nighttime operations; these systems are designed to integrate with existing night vision devices. SUMMARY Described is an intelligent augmented reality system and associated methods, featuring networked computing devices and at least one augmented reality display device. These devices provide relevant information, and thereby increased situational awareness, to pilots engaged in formation fli