Coalition-based Planning of Military Operations: Adversarial Reasoning Algorithms in an Integrated Decision Aid

TL;DR

This paper discusses the use of knowledge-based planning tools, exemplified by the CADET system, to improve coalition military operation planning in adversarial environments, demonstrating favorable results compared to human planners.

Contribution

It introduces the CADET system for automated and guided battle planning, highlighting its technical approach and experimental validation in complex, multi-organizational military scenarios.

Findings

CADET compares favorably with human planners in experiments

The tool enables rapid synchronization of heterogeneous coalition assets

Interleaved planning processes improve operational efficiency

Abstract

Use of knowledge-based planning tools can help alleviate the challenges of planning a complex operation by a coalition of diverse parties in an adversarial environment. We explore these challenges and potential contributions of knowledge-based tools using as an example the CADET system, a knowledge-based tool capable of producing automatically (or with human guidance) battle plans with realistic degree of detail and complexity. In ongoing experiments, it compared favorably with human planners. Interleaved planning, scheduling, routing, attrition and consumption processes comprise the computational approach of this tool. From the coalition operations perspective, such tools offer an important aid in rapid synchronization of assets and actions of heterogeneous assets belonging to multiple organizations, potentially with distinct doctrine and rules of engagement. In this paper, we discuss the functionality of the tool, provide a brief overview of the technical approach and experimental results, and outline the potential value of such tools.