• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.47 no.12
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• pp.856-864
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• 2019

The weapon-target assignment (WTA) problem is a matter of effectively allocating weapons to a number of threats. The WTA in a rapidly changing dynamic environment of engagement must take into account both of properties of the threat and the weapon and the effect of the previous decision. We propose a method of applying the Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedure (GRASP) algorithm, a kind of meta-heuristic method, to derive optimal solution for a dynamic WTA problem. Firstly, we define a dynamic WTA problem and formulate a mathematical model for applying the algorithm. For the purpose of the assignment strategy, the objective function is defined and time-varying constraints are considered. The dynamic WTA problem is then solved by applying the GRASP algorithm. The optimal solution characteristics of the formalized dynamic WTA problem are analyzed through the simulation, and the algorithm performance is verified via the Monte-Carlo simulation.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.337-345
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• 2020

The Weapon-Target Assignment(WTA) problem can be formulated as an optimization problem that minimize the threat of targets. Existing methods consider the trade-off between optimality and execution time to meet the various mission objectives. We propose a multi-agent reinforcement learning algorithm for WTA based on mean field game to solve the problem in real-time with nearly optimal accuracy. Mean field game is a recent method introduced to relieve the curse of dimensionality in multi-agent learning algorithm. In addition, previous reinforcement learning models for WTA generally do not consider weapon interference, which may be critical in real world operations. Therefore, we modify the reward function to discourage the crossing of weapon trajectories. The feasibility of the proposed method was verified through simulation of a WTA problem with multiple targets in realtime and the proposed algorithm can assign the weapons to all targets without crossing trajectories of weapons.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.441-453
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• 2017

In this paper, a new type of weapon-target assignment(WTA) problem has been suggested that reflects realistic constraints for sharing target with other weapons and shooting double rapid fire. To utilize in rapidly changing actual battle field, the computation time is of great importance. Several metaheuristic methods such as Simulated Annealing, Tabu Search, Genetic Algorithm, Ant Colony Optimization, and Particle Swarm Optimization have been applied to the real-time WTA in order to find a near optimal solution. A case study with a large number of targets in consideration of the practical cases has been analyzed by the objective value of each algorithm.

• The Journal of the Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.221-227
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• 2019

It has long been known that weapon target assignment (WTA) problem is NP-hard. Nonetheless, an exact solution can be found using Brute-Force or branch-and bound method which utilize approximation. Many heuristic algorithms, genetic algorithm particle swarm optimization, etc., have been proposed which provide near-optimal solutions in polynomial time. This paper suggests polynomial time algorithm that can be obtain the optimal solution of WTA problem for the number of total weapons k, the number of weapon types m, and the number of targets n. This algorithm performs k times for O(mn) so the algorithm complexity is O(kmn). The proposed algorithm can be minimize the number of trials than brute-force method and can be obtain the optimal solution.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.365-372
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• 2021

This paper deals with an optimal Weapon-Target Assignment (WTA) algorithm for Closed-In Weapon Systems (CIWS), considering variable burst time. In this study, the WTA problem for CIWS is formulated based on Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP). Unlike the previous study assuming that the burst time is fixed regardless of the engagement range, the proposed method utilizes the variable burst time based on the kill probability according to the engagement range. Thus, the proposed method can reflect a more realistic engagement situation and reduce the reaction time of CIWS against targets, compared to the existing method. In this paper, we first reformulate the existing MILP-based WTA problem to accommodate the variable burst Time. The proposed method is then validated through numerical simulations with the help of a commercial optimization tool.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.47 no.11
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• pp.787-794
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• 2019

In this paper, a Mixed Integer Linear Programming(MILP) approach for solving optimal Weapon-Target Assignment(WTA) problem of multiple dissimilar Closed-In Weapon Systems (CIWS) is proposed. Generally, WTA problems are formulated in nonlinear mixed integer optimization form, which often requires impractical exhaustive search to optimize. However, transforming the problem into a structured MILP problem enables global optimization with an acceptable computational load. The problem of interest considers defense against several threats approaching the asset from various directions, with different time of arrival. Moreover, we consider multiple dissimilar CIWSs defending the asset. We derive a MILP form of the given nonlinear WTA problem. The formulated MILP problem is implemented with a commercial optimizer, and the optimization result is proposed.

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.260-267
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• 2017

Quantum-inspired Genetic Algorithm (QGA) is a probabilistic search optimization method combined quantum computation and genetic algorithm. In QGA, the chromosomes are encoded by qubits and are updated by quantum rotation gates, which can achieve a genetic search. Asset-based weapon target assignment (WTA) problem can be described as an optimization problem in which the defenders assign the weapons to hostile targets in order to maximize the value of a group of surviving assets threatened by the targets. It has already been proven that the WTA problem is NP-complete. In this study, we propose a QGA and a hybrid-QGA to solve an asset-based WTA problem. In the proposed QGA, a set of probabilistic superposition of qubits are coded and collapsed into a target number. Q-gate updating strategy is also used for search guidance. The hybrid-QGA is generated by incorporating both the random search capability of QGA and the evolution capability of genetic algorithm (GA). To observe the performance of each algorithm, we construct three synthetic WTA problems and check how each algorithm works on them. Simulation results show that all of the algorithm have good quality of solutions. Since the difference among mean resulting value is within 2%, we run the nonparametric pairwise Wilcoxon rank sum test for testing the equality of the means among the results. The Wilcoxon test reveals that GA has better quality than the others. In contrast, the simulation results indicate that hybrid-QGA and QGA is much faster than GA for the production of the same number of generations.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.183-191
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• 1997

A neural network-based algorithm for the static weapon-target assignment (WTA) problem is Presented in this paper. An optimal WTA is one which allocates targets to weapon systems such that the total expected leakage value of targets surviving the defense is minimized. The proposed algorithm is based on a Hopfield and Tank's neural network model, and uses K x M processing elements called binary neuron, where M is the number of weapon platforms and K is the number of targets. From the software simulation results of example battle scenarios, it is shown that the proposed method has better performance in convergence speed than other method when the optimal initial values are used.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.566-578
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• 2017

For optimizing the operation plan when strike packages attack multiple targets, this article suggests a new mathematical model and a parallel hybrid genetic algorithm (PHGA) as a solution methodology. In the model, a package can assault multiple targets on a sortie and permitted the use of mixed munitions for a target. Furthermore, because the survival probability of a package depends on a flight route, it is formulated as a mixed integer programming which is synthesized the models for vehicle routing and weapon-target assignment. The hybrid strategy of the solution method (PHGA) is also implemented by the separation of functions of a GA and an exact solution method using ILOG CPLEX. The GA searches the flight routes of packages, and CPLEX assigns the munitions of a package to the targets on its way. The parallelism enhances the likelihood seeking the optimal solution via the collaboration among the HGAs.

• Korean Management Science Review
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.55-74
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• 2008

In recent warfare, the performance improvement of air weapon systems enables an aircraft to strike multiple targets on a single sortie. Further, aircrafts attacking targets may carry out an operation as a strike package that is composed of bombers, escort aircrafts, SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses) aircrafts and etc. In this paper, we present an aircraft allocation model that allocates multiple targets to a single sortie in the form of a strike package. A mixed integer programming is developed and solved by using a commercially available software. The new model is better than existing ones because not only it allocates aircrafts to multiple targets but also it models the concept of the strike package. We perform a computational experiment to compare the result of the new model with that of existing ones, and perform sensitivity analysis by varying a couple of important parameters.