Network Optimization Models for Resource Allocation in Developing Military Countermeasures

A military arms race is characterized by a iterative development of measures and countermeasures. An attacker attempts to introduce new weapons in order to gain some advantage, whereas a defender attempts to develop countermeasures that can mitigate or even eliminate the effects of the weapons. This paper addresses the defender’s decision problem: given limited resources, which countermeasures should be developed and how much should be invested in their development so as to minimize the damage caused by the attacker’s weapons over a certain time horizon. We formulate several optimization models, corresponding to different operational settings, as constrained shortest path problems. We then demonstrate the potential applicability and robustness of this approach with respect to various scenarios.