Solution Approaches for the Dynamic Naval Air Defense Planning Problem

Abstract

The naval air defense planning (NADP) problem entails the defense of a naval fleet against aerial threats. This complex and dynamic problem requires real-time decision-making and adaptation to evolving warfare environment. While our previous work addressed the static NADP problem by proposing a mathematical model and heuristic solutions for sensor allocation, engagement scheduling, and ship routing, this study extends to the dynamic NADP problem. Unlike the static version, which assumes complete knowledge of future threats, the dynamic NADP problem requires continuous updates and real-time adjustments to decisions as new threats emerge and situational parameters change. We present modifications in the mathematical formulation, which is based on a mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model, alongside a comprehensive simulation structure. We employ heuristic solution approaches that utilize a combination of a genetic algorithm, construction of an engagement graph to solve the shortest path problem, and dynamic programming (DP) techniques. Computational experiments are conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of these methods in addressing the dynamic NADP problem. The study also explores machine learning models for threat prioritization, offering innovative solutions to the challenges posed by dynamic naval air defense scenarios. © 2013 IEEE.