An Investigation of the Bomber and Tanker Mating Process in the Single Integrated Operations Plan.
Abstract
The initial objective of this thesis was to develop a method for assigning tankers to the strategic bomber force in an optimal manner. As the study progressed however, it became clear that obtaining a truly optimal solution using mathematical programming techniques cannot be guaranteed due to the nature and complexity of the problem. As a result, the emphasis of the study was shifted to developing an improved method for solving the problem. Two heuristic methods were investigated. The first method used network theory in an attempt to minimize the costs of assigning tankers to the bombers. The second method was based on the so-called 'greedy' method. This method basically made the assignments in the order of decreasing marginal cost improvements. These two methods were evaluated against each other and the current method by means of several example problems. Both methods yielded better results than the one currently in use, with the network method appearing to be the best.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1982
- Accession Number
- ADA115703
Entities
People
- James W. Stanfield
- William L. Macelhaney
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology