Combat modeling (Q730788)

This book is devoted to the analysis of multifarious combat models, which are classified into nine groups. Each chapter corresponds to one such class. The authors start with a description of commonly used assumptions, which considerably simplify examination. The major ones are the following: \(\bullet\) replacement of random variables by their expected values, \(\bullet\) independence of interactions coming from different phenomena, \(\bullet\) tuning parameters, \(\bullet\) ignoring certain poorly understood and controversial events. At the same time the reader is warned against blindly accepting these simplifications and encouraged to interpret them correctly within different situations. The content of this monograph is as follows. Chapter 2 deals with models, in which a marksman does not get feedback regarding the effect. The authors discuss various damage functions and issues of accuracy in the case of single and multiple shots. Chapter 3, on the other hand, attends to models, in which a shooter receives the information about the status of targets, although it may be unreliable. The consecutive section is devoted to target defense. In such situations, attackers approach a target wanting to kill it by overwhelming its defenses. The defense is equipped with interceptors, which can only kill the attackers to whom they are assigned. The objective is to use these interceptors to maximize the survival probability of the targets. Chapter 5 is concerned with models describing the destruction of the enemy forces and evolution of a battle depending on the lethality of various weapon systems. The next chapter employs game theory tools and methods to illustrate the behavior of an adversary. The major reason to do that, is due to the fact that, in contrast to nature, people behave rationally and have a strong feeling about outcome. Chapter 7 is about searching for physical objects, which can be hidden or can move, with the aid of sensors. It reviews descriptive models for detecting the target as soon as possible. The successive parts survey more sophisticated issues such as mine warfare, remotely piloted unmanned vehicles, selfpiloted aircraft and terrorism. This book requires a basic knowledge of calculus, ordinary differential equations, probability theory, stochastic processes and optimization. Each chapter ends with a number of exercises. It is nicely written and can be a valuable supplement to teaching material as well as a reference for those who are interested in combat models.