Effective attacks in the salvo combat model: Salvo sizes and quantities of targets |
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Authors: | Michael J. Armstrong |
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Affiliation: | Carleton University, Sprott School of Business, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa. Ontario K1S 5B6, CanadaCarleton University, Sprott School of Business, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa. Ontario K1S 5B6, Canada |
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Abstract: | This article considers two related questions of tactics in the context of the salvo model for naval missile combat. For a given set of targets, how many missiles should be fired to produce an effective attack? For a given available salvo size, how many enemy targets should be fired at? In the deterministic version of the model I derive a simple optimality relationship between the number of missiles to fire and the number of targets to engage. In the stochastic model I employ the expected loss inflicted and the probability of enemy elimination as the main performance measures and use these to derive salvo sizes that are in some sense “optimal.” I find that the offensive firepower needed for an effective attack depends not only on a target's total strength but also on the relative balance between its active defensive power and passive staying power. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2007 |
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Keywords: | military modeling naval tactics salvo combat applied probability |
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