Title :
Using agent-based modeling to capture airpower strategic effects
Author :
Bullock, Richard K. ; Mcintyre, Gregory A. ; Hill, Raymond R.
Author_Institution :
Air Force Studies & Anal. Agency, Pentagon ADM, VA, USA
Abstract :
Airpower´s strength lies in quickly striking the enemy directly where they are vulnerable while being unhampered by geography and surface forces. Airpower theory suggests the effects of these strikes propagate throughout an opponent´s military system, yielding catastrophic output or strategic effects. Despite this theory being a cornerstone of US Air Force doctrine, current Air Force models do not seem to capture airpower´s inherent strength. Since these models are used to support budgetary decision making, the US may not be funding the airpower capability it needs. The article focuses on developing an approach to capture strategic effects in models. The approach establishes a basis for the effects in military theory as well as the field of complex adaptive systems. Using these concepts as a foundation, a simulation model called the Hierarchical Interactive Theater Model (HITM) is constructed and exercised. HITM output depicts a cascading deterioration in force effectiveness and eventual total collapse resulting from destruction of vital targets. This outcome is consistent with the expected results of strikes against centers of gravity defined in Air Force doctrine, suggesting agent based modeling is an effective way to simulate strategic effects at the operational level of war
Keywords :
adaptive systems; digital simulation; interactive systems; military aircraft; military computing; software agents; Air Force models; HITM output; Hierarchical Interactive Theater Model; US Air Force doctrine; agent based modeling; airpower capability; airpower strategic effects; airpower theory; budgetary decision making; cascading deterioration; catastrophic output; centers of gravity; complex adaptive systems; enemy; expected results; force effectiveness; military system; military theory; operational level; simulation model; strategic effects; target destruction; war; Adaptive systems; Assembly; Decision making; Distributed control; Failure analysis; Geography; Gravity; Independent component analysis;
Conference_Titel :
Simulation Conference, 2000. Proceedings. Winter
Conference_Location :
Orlando, FL
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-6579-8
DOI :
10.1109/WSC.2000.899164