Communication Role Allocation for Joint Air Operations in a Network-Centric Environment

Joint Air Operations (JAO) are traditionally orchestrated using static vehicle roles assigned from command and control. With recent advances in information and communication technology and the increased need for a dynamic and flexible response, vehicles are expected to assume multiple roles over the course of a mission. In addition, this level of flexibility requires the capability for a vehicle to determine when to facilitate network communication. In this study, we develop an efficient mathematical model that can be used to dynamically assign vehicles to roles including the role of communication in a threat-filled environment. We compute rewards for role assignment based on the marginal benefit to the system and the risk to the individual vehicle. These rewards are utilized within an efficient network optimization formulation to allocate vehicle roles.

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