Continuous Planning and Execution for Air Campaigns 
Final Demonstration System
January, 1999

A high-level summarization of the demonstration is pictured below. The timeline along the bottom of the diagram shows exogenous events that are outside of the system's control. Above that, activities are organized along three functional roles: the User, the Planner, and the Executor. The system is designed so that the User plays an active role in the plan development and execution processes. The term Planner is used generically to refer to a number of planning-related activities: plan generation, plan analysis, plan repair. The Executor provides three main threads of activity in parallel: situation monitoring , plan tracking, and plan management. Situation monitoring refers to the process of checking for key changes in the world-state that could impact plans or ongoing planning processes. Plan Tracking involves monitoring the progress through execution of chosen plans, to ensure that the process is proceeding in an acceptable manner. Plan Management refers to the overseeing of the modification of plans in response to changing situation information and incoming results from execution results.

The demonstration begins with the user specifying air objectives for a given campaign. The Planner generates a plan to satisfy those objectives relative to its current knowledge of the operating environment. The completed plan is reviewed by the User who can recommend changes to satisfy any outstanding concerns. The Planner then produces an updated plan that incorporates the user's feedback.

The Original Plan

As planning proceeds, the Executor monitors the environment for events that are relevant to the developing plan. Receipt of an intelligence update that invalidates parts of the plan will prompt a request that the Planner replan the affected portions of the plan. Monitoring of the environment continues as execution of the plan commences. In addition, the Executor tracks progress through the execution of the plan to determine whether modifications are needed in response to the status of the execution, and undertaking such modifications as required.

The Repaired Plan (new/modified nodes are displayed in green)

  • View a textual description of the plan
  • Download complete demonstration instructions (Postscript)