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Minimization Of Collateral Damage In Airdrops And Airstrikes, Steven P. Dillenburger
Minimization Of Collateral Damage In Airdrops And Airstrikes, Steven P. Dillenburger
Theses and Dissertations
Collateral damage presents a significant risk during air drops and airstrikes, risking citizens' lives and property, straining the relationship between the United States Air Force and host nations. This dissertation presents a methodology to determine the optimal location for making supply airdrops in order to minimize collateral damage while maintaining a high likelihood of successful recovery. A series of non-linear optimization algorithms is presented along with their relative success in finding the optimal location in the airdrop problem. Additionally, we present a quick algorithm for accurately creating the Pareto frontier in the multi-objective airstrike problem. We demonstrate the effect of …
Estimating Cargo Airdrop Collateral Damage Risk, Vincent R. Cammarano
Estimating Cargo Airdrop Collateral Damage Risk, Vincent R. Cammarano
Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this research is to determine an appropriate method for estimating cargo airdrop collateral damage risk. Specifically, this thesis answers the question: How can mission planners accurately predict airdrop collateral damage risk? The question is answered through a literature review and a thorough examination of a data set of real world airdrop scoring data. The data were examined to determine critical factors that affect airdrop error risks as well as to determine the characteristics of airdrop error patterns. Through this research it was determined that bivariate normal distributions with parameters pairs determined by empirical data are appropriate for …
Application Of Satellite-Derived Wind Profiles To Joint Precision Airdrop System (Jpads) Operations, David C. Meier
Application Of Satellite-Derived Wind Profiles To Joint Precision Airdrop System (Jpads) Operations, David C. Meier
Theses and Dissertations
The Joint Precision Airdrop System has revolutionized military airdrop capability, allowing accurate delivery of equipment and supplies to smaller drop zones, from higher altitudes than was previously possible. This capability depends on accurate wind data which is currently provided by a combination of high-resolution forecast models and GPS dropsondes released in the vicinity of the dropzone shortly before the airdrop. This research develops a windprofiling algorithm to derive the needed wind data from passive IR satellite soundings, eliminating the requirement for a hazardous dropsonde pass near the drop zone, or allowing the dropsonde to be dropped farther from the dropzone. …