Developing an Integrated Mission Simulation to Evaluate Technology Impact on Military Scenarios

Abstract

Over the past decade, technology has experienced a rapid and widespread evolution, resulting in new capabilities across the defense sector. While these capabilities often bring about beneficial changes, they can also beget unforeseen consequences. As a result, it is becoming increasingly important for the military to understand how this changing technological landscape can impact its missions. To address this issue, we have developed an Integrated Mission Simulation (IMS) to assess the potential impact that different technologies may have on a given mission. The Integrated Mission Simulation combines a mission context model with several technology performance models, which enables users to assess the results of different ‘what-if’ scenarios on key performance parameters for a given mission. To illustrate its utility, we present two publicly available scenarios and simulate how known technological advances could have altered the outcomes of those scenarios.