DSDTCoP – Flare Investigation Task – Safety Trace

Background

The field of Digital Twins as a whole holds incredible possibilities within the entire defence landscape.

In the case of air countermeasures – specifically flares – the ability for them to provide a decoy is a well-established concept and has been in service in the RAF since the 1960s with the Vulcan bomber. Not only is it relevant for today as a countermeasure, it will also be relevant for the foreseeable future.

Digital simulations and representations of flares systems have the potential to provide the MOD with an improved design, test, evaluation and through life support capability for its countermeasure assets. MOD have selected five topics for the Digital Twin Community of Practice to help them understand new approaches.

Safety Trace

What are we looking for? – This task is to develop and verify a model/tool that can predict the flight trajectory and ground impact location of in-flight ejected flares and associated components for both burning and non-burning flare countermeasures. A failure mode analysis is also required, and It is recommended that an analysis is conducted to ascertain which components of the flare constitute a valid hazard to 2nd/3rd parties, what represents a reputational risk to the MoD, and therefore what components must be modelled in order to ensure a valid safety trace. This also includes thrusted or kinematic flares.

Technical description – The aim of the flare safety trace is to ensure that safety is maximised when conducting flare trials and flare firings. As such, if calculated and applied correctly it should ensure two things; Trials risks are minimised to 2nd and 3rd parties, and components of the flare should remain outside areas that are accessible to the public.