Training Aircraft Selection of the Vietnam People's Air Force Using a Hybrid BWM-Fuzzy TOPSIS Method

Abstract

Demands that the Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) have new modern training aircraft have been growing recently. Although other training aircraft such as the Yak-52 and L-39 have performed well for decades, they are no longer able to perform the full range of training tasks required of them due to an increasing technology gap. In 2016, the United States government lifted a decade-long ban on lethal arms sales for Vietnam. This has created opportunities for Vietnam to access a variety of weapons suppliers from many countries that have a strong, global defence industry. However, one of the most difficult decisions the VPAF must make concerns the type, configuration, and capabilities of future training aircraft. This study therefore proposes a Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) model by combining the Best Worst Method (BWM) and a Fuzzy Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (Fuzzy TOPSIS) to choose a modern training aircraft that can replicate the characteristics of several fourth-generation or better fighter planes, with the fifth-generation fighters also being able to perform light-attack and reconnaissance duties for VPAF. The case study employing the hybrid BWM-Fuzzy TOPSIS method reveals that the Yak-130 training aircraft is the best selection for VPAF. To validate the robustness of the proposed framework, sensitivity analysis has been conducted with the result compared to Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP).