AUTONOMOUS COMMAND AND CONTROL UNIT FOR MOBILE PLATFORM

In a vehicle designed for the execution of a mission, a programmable decision unit capable of managing and controlling the execution of the mission by utilizing a plurality of subsystems and database capable of holding and managing data including pre-stored data and data acquired by and received from the plurality of subsystems. The programmable decision unit includes a mission plan (MP) for accomplishing the execution of the mission includes a succession of iterations that include each assignment of a mission segment associated with a current mission stated to one or more of the subsystems. Each iteration further includes receipt from the subsystems report data which include data indicative of the execution status of the mission segment by the corresponding subsystem; and evaluation of the report data for determining either normal behavior or an exceptional event. The programmable decision unit is capable of managing and controlling the execution of the mission in an autonomous fashion whereby the vehicle becomes an autonomous vehicle.