Optimal confrontation position selecting games model and its application to one-on-one air combat

In the air combat process, confrontation position is the critical factor to determine the confrontation situation, attack effect and escape probability of UAVs. Therefore, selecting the optimal confrontation position becomes the primary goal of maneuver decision-making. By taking the position as the UAV's maneuver strategy, this paper constructs the optimal confrontation position selecting games (OCPSGs) model. In the OCPSGs model, the payoff function of each UAV is defined by the difference between the comprehensive advantages of both sides, and the strategy space of each UAV at every step is defined by its accessible space determined by the maneuverability. Then we design the limit approximation of mixed strategy Nash equilibrium (LAMSNQ) algorithm, which provides a method to determine the optimal probability distribution of positions in the strategy space. In the simulation phase, we assume the motions on three directions are independent and the strategy space is a cuboid to simplify the model. Several simulations are performed to verify the feasibility, effectiveness and stability of the algorithm. (c) 2023 China Ordnance Society. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co. Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).