Verification and validation of the Infantry Warrior Simulation (IWARS) through engagement effectiveness modeling and statistical analysis

Abstract

The United States Military uses simulations extensively in order to conduct detailed cost benefit analysis, facilitate the procurement, development and testing of systems, and to train and educate service members. The models that the military uses are only beneficial as long as they accurately mirror reality based on known data. As combat evolves, simulations must improve at a matched rate in order to stay relevant. Currently, the Infantry Warrior Simulation (IWARS) program has been through limited validation processes concerning its data on body hit distributions in the simulation versus the body hit distributions from actual combat. The IWARS models are developed through firsthand accounts collected through extensive research and stakeholder analysis. Common aspects of current engagements are then combined into a number of scenarios that the project team will simulate through IWARS. The project team will then use statistical analysis to compare the real and virtual data sets to determine to what degree the simulation matches the collected historical data. The project team will run multiple scenarios and trials in order to create statistically significant data. At the conclusion of this research project and through detailed statistical analysis, the design team will validate the IWARS output against historical data.