An Analysis of the Vertical Takeoff and Landing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle in Small Unit Urban Operations

The Marine Corps has recently embarked on the development of a Vertical Takeoff and Landing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (VTUAV) to replace the aging Pioneer system. This thesis examines the critical elements this platform must possess in order to effectively support small units operating in urban environments. We address this issue by creating and exploring an agentbased simulation of a platoon conducting an urban patrol in a setting similar to those currently being encountered in Iraq. The platoon utilizes the VTUAV as an intelligence-gathering asset. We use an efficient designed experiment to generate data from the simulation scenario, and then use multiple regression and regression trees to relate the UAV capabilities to the patrol’s operational effectiveness. Our results suggest that the effectiveness of a VTUAV is greatly influenced by noise in the urban warfare environment. We use a loss function, along with the regression models, to identify UAV configurations that improve operational effectiveness yet are robust to uncertainties about civilian and insurgent behavior. The VTUAV must have high communication capability, as well as accurate sensing, in order to perform well across a range of environmental conditions.