A measure of effectiveness for sensors and strategies

This paper discusses a possible measure of effectiveness for information sensing equipment, such as radar or sonar, based on its ability to provide information. It is shown that such a measure is particularly appropriate for situations where a sequence of similar limited engagements may occur, as on antisubmarine patrol, for example. In this case the measure expresses the expected rate of gain per engagement of the relative resources of the participants. Rates are calculated for the optimal and certain simpler, but suboptimal, strategies. The measure is illustrated by an exact analysis of a gambling problem and a qualitative treatment of an anti-missile missile allocation problem.