Producing target model at a central facility

the long version

In order to home on a target, an autonomous precision-guided weapon with a target-imaging sensor needs to match the scene shown by its sensor against an internal target model that depicts the target and nearby objects. In this report, the authors develop a methodology for assessing the capabilities of facilities to produce target models. Production would involve collecting images of target areas, selecting specific targets, measuring the targets' locations both on the earth and on the image, and then building the models. The authors estimate the rate at which target models could be produced and the costs both of equipping a facility to produce them and of supporting such production over a year.