Modeling and simulation of military tactical logistics distribution

The military tactical logistics planning problem addresses the issue of distributing heterogeneous commodities in a theater of operations using a combination of heterogeneous transportation assets such as logistics trucks and tactical helicopters. The Canadian Forces requires a decision support tool to examine the trade-off between the cost of the support and its effectiveness during sustainment operations. In this study, a mathematical optimization algorithm and a simulation module to build cost efficient and effective military tactical logistics are developed. Details of the optimization algorithm along with several example applications are presented to demonstrate the methodology. The simulation results are focused on the trade-off between cost and lead-time within which demands are required, and on the optimal fleet mix of transportation assets to respond to the different requirements of deployed forces.