OPTIMAL TIMING IN MISSILE LAUNCHING: A GAME-THEORETIC ANALYSIS

Abstract

Suppose that Blue plans to launch a missile during some specified time interval. Prior to a launching, Blue must expose the missile for a time period, during which the missile is vulnerable to attack and may be destroyed by Red. Prior to its exposure, Blue's missile is assumed to be underground, where it may be pinned down for a time interval or possibly destroyed by a Red missile. The optimal time is formulated for Blue to launch his missile, and the optimal time is analyzed for Red to attack Blue. This scheduling problem is formulated and analyzed as a two-person game. Various game models are considered in which the three types of vulnerability are introduced as stochastic elements. The optimal strategies, i.e., the optimal launching times, are described.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 1961
Accession Number
AD0264783

Entities

People

  • Melvin Dresher
  • Selmer Johnson

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Contracts
  • Fish
  • Frequency
  • Government Procurement
  • Governments
  • Intervals
  • Launching
  • Launching Sites
  • Probability
  • Random Variables
  • Scheduling (Production)
  • Sequential Games
  • Sites
  • Time Intervals
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Mathematics

Readers

  • Cybersecurity.
  • Statistical inference.
  • Team-Based Human-Centered Cognitive Task Decision Making and Information Performance.