Avoidance of aircraft and aircraft wake during flight

A subject vehicle, comprising:

• an intruder vehicle detection device;
• and
• a processor programmed to:
• identify an intruder vehicle using the intruder vehicle detection device;
• predict a past, present, and future path of the intruder vehicle;
• estimate strength, size, and location characteristics of a wake vortex created by the intruder vehicle at points in time along the past, present, and future path;
• calculate a potential trajectory with potential positions of the subject vehicle at each of the past, present, and future points in time;
• compare the potential positions with the strength, size, and location characteristics of the wake vortex at each of the past, present, and future points in time to identify a wake conflict;
• and
• maneuver the subject vehicle based on the wake conflict.

A method of avoiding wake turbulence in a subject aircraft, the method comprising:

• identifying an intruder aircraft using the intruder aircraft detection device;
• predicting a future path of the intruder aircraft;
• estimating strength, size, and location characteristics of a wake vortex created by the intruder aircraft at future points in time along the past, present, and future path;
• calculating a potential trajectory with potential positions of the subject aircraft at each of the past, present, and future points in time;
• comparing the potential positions with the strength, size, and location characteristics of the wake vortex at each of the past, present, and future points in time to identify a wake conflict;
• and
• maneuvering the subject aircraft based on the wake conflict.