Modeling of the Target’s Interception Delay in an ADT Game with One or Two Defenders

Abstract. This paper considers the Attacker–Defender–Target (ADT) problem with one or two defenders in a 2D statement. By assumption, the target and defenders move in a straight line with a constant velocity whereas the attacker moves along a catch-up trajectory with an unbounded radius of curvature. Compared to the target’s velocity, the defenders move slower whereas the attacker faster. The essence of using defenders is that the attacker first intercepts them and only then switches to pursuing the primary target. As a result, the time of intercepting the primary target increases, and the target may become unattainable for the attacker due to a limited fuel capacity. The angles and times of launching the defenders are optimized, including the case where both defenders are launched on the same side of the target. Different models of the homing system of an autonomous attacking vehicle are studied: moving to the center of mass of all pursued objects and moving to the nearest target by distance or by angular range. Numerical simulations are carried out, showing the importance of choosing the angle of launch of the defenders and the reasonability of using the second defender. Also, scenarios are obtained in which using defenders makes the primary target unattainable for the attacker.

Keywords: pursuit, homing system, defenders, autonomous vehicle, optimization, numerical simulation, interception, ADT.

Acknowledgments. This work was supported in part by the Russian Science Foundation (project no. 23-19-00134).