An Examination of the Effects of the Criterion Functional on Optimal Fire-Support Policies
Abstract
This paper examines the dependence of the structure of optimal time- sequential fire support policies on the quantification of military objectives by considering four specific problems, each corresponding to a different quantification of objectives (i.e. criterion functional). The authors consider the optimal time-sequential allocation of supporting fires during the 'approach to contact' of friendly infantry against enemy defensive positions. The combat dynamics are modelled by deterministic Lanchester-type equations of warfare, and the optimal fire-support policy for each one-sided combat optimization problem is developed via optimal control theory. The problems are all nonconvex, and local optima are a particular difficulty in one of them. For the same dynamics, the splitting of supporting fires between two enemy forces in an optimal policy (i.e. the optimality of singular subarcs) is shown to depend only on whether the terminal payoff reflects the objective of attaining an 'overall' military advantage or a 'local' one. Additionally, switching times for changes in the ranking of target priorities are shown to be different when the decision criterion is the difference and the ratio of the military worths of total infantry survivors and also the difference and the ratio of the military worths of the combatants' total infantry losses.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1976
- Accession Number
- ADA033760
Entities
People
- Gerald G. Jerry Brown
- James G. Taylor
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School