System and methods for control of canopy formations

Description (excerpt)

GOVERNMENT INTEREST The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States for all governmental purposes without the payment of any royalty. FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure relates generally to canopy formation control, and more particularly to systems employing strategic control of unmanned autonomous systems (UAS) to guide a canopy formation to its desired impact point (DIP) in unfamiliar or hostile environments. BACKGROUND This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art, which may be related to various aspects of the present invention that are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art. Parachute canopy formation flight involves the organized assembly and movement of parachutists under canopy in proximity. The practice of establishing these canopy formations is typically known as canopy relative work and is of interest to both competitive skydivers and military freefall teams. Free fall parachutists exit an aircraft within seconds of one another and regroup while in freefall or following canopy deployment. Free fall operations in which canopy deployment occurs at high altitudes are known as High Altitude High Opening (HAHO) operations, or standoffs. Standoffs are tactically significant in that they permit free fall parachutists to exit the aircraft upwards of tens of kilometers from the desired impact point (DIP), which may allow the aircraft to remain beyond the air defenses of the enemy to ensure secrecy of the operation. The free fall parachutist team then navigates in formation under canopy through the sphere of enemy air defenses until arriving at the DIP to continue follow-on operations on the ground. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Various deficiencies in the prior art are addressed below by the disclosed systems and method for a system configured to control one or more unmanned autonomous systems (UASs) deployed under canopy to provide navigational guidance to a grouped free fall team through hostile enemy airspace and to a DIP, such as by maintaining a preset offset distance in front of and below a lead parachutist while navigating toward the DIP along a prescribed route. The UAS may operate independently with upload of a pre-planned routing structure or be controlled by a remote control site with access to environmental data, maps, and surveillance footage. Advantageously, the integration of UAS into tactical free fall operations greatly enhances stealth insertion capabilities and provides alternative means of command and control of free fall operations. Further, the various embodiments reduce cognitive load on free fall parachutists operating in hostile airspaces, increase the likelihood of success of a clandestine insertion, and provide free fall teams with remote and dynamic guidance from a control site. A method according to an embodiment for controlling canopy formations approaching a desired impact point (DIP) may comprise, at an unmanned autonomous systems (UAS) deployed under canopy: establishing an in-flight offset distance between the UA and a lead parachutist of a stack of parachutists under canopy; navigating through airspace toward a desired impact point (DIP) in accordance with routing instructions stored in the UAS while maintaining the established offset distance; and transmitting, toward a glide data unit (GDU) associated with the lead parachutist under canopy, data configured to be presented via a display device operatively coupled to the GDU, the data representing at least one of routing, approach, DIP landing information, and environmental data. A system according to an embodiment for controlling canopy formations approaching a desired impact point (DIP) may comprise: at least one unmanned autonomous systems (UAS) configured for deployment under canopy and configured to fly in front of a stack of parachutists under canopy, the UAS comprising: a non-transitory memory, for storing computer instructions and navigation routing data; a distance sensor, for determining a vertical and lateral distance from a lead parachutist under canopy; and a transceiver, for communicating with a glide data unit (GDU) associated with a lead parachutist under canopy; and a lead parachutist GDU configured for deployment under canopy with a lead parachutist, the GDU comprising: a transceiver, for communicating with the at least one UAS; and a display, for displaying information received from the at least one UAS, the displayed information being configured to represent for the canopy flight at lea