Counter Piracy: A Repeated Game with Asymmetric Information

Abstract

This thesis presents a model of a counter-piracy operation, where a task force has one operational asset (a destroyer) and one reconnaissance asset (an unmanned aerial vehicle) to reduce piracy in a large region. The region is divided into small areas, and each day the pirates operate in one area to hijack commercial vessels to collect ransoms. The information is asymmetric to the two players. The pirates know which area is more profitable, but the task force does not. The task force can use the operational asset to prevent piracy, and the reconnaissance asset to collect information on the profitability of each area. The pirates want to maximize their income over a thirty-day period, while the task force wants to minimize it. The numerical experiments quantify the value of the operational asset and the reconnaissance asset in this counter-piracy operation.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2009
Accession Number
ADA508889

Entities

People

  • Christopher D. Marsh

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Autonomy
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Basic Programming Language
  • Detectors
  • Game Theory
  • Information Operations
  • Intelligence Collection
  • Mathematical Models
  • Military Operations
  • Operations Research
  • Reconnaissance
  • Security
  • Surveillance
  • Systems Engineering
  • Task Forces
  • United States Naval Academy
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • Zero-Sum Games

Readers

  • Economics
  • Military Science
  • Naval Engineering and Maritime Security

Technology Areas

  • Autonomy
  • Autonomy - UAVs