Colored Petri net simulation and modeling of air-to-ground targeting

Air-to-Ground targeting in a kill chain requires timely information flow and coordination of a large number of complex and disparate systems and events that are distributed in space and time. Modeling and simulation of such complex systems poses a considerable challenge to the system developers. Colored Petri Nets (CPN) provide a well-established graphically-oriented simulation tool with the capability to incorporate design and performance specifications and operational requirements of complex discrete-event systems for verification and validation under a variety of input stimuli. In this paper, we present the results of a preliminary study of implementing rudimentary, yet realistic, kill chain modules for Air-to-Ground combat using CPN tools. We have developed top-level functional kill chain modules incorporating its primary functions. It is expected that the modularity of the CPN-based simulation framework will enable us to incorporate further details and breadth in system complexities in order to study real world kill-chain simulation environment as an integral part of DOD's C4ISR architecture.