A Proof of the Bomber Problem's Spend-It-All Conjecture

Abstract

The Bomber Problem concerns optimal sequential allocation of partially effective ammunition $x$ while under attack from enemies arriving according to a Poisson process over a time interval of length $t$. In the doubly-continuous setting, in certain regions of $(x,t)$-space we are able to solve the integral equation defining the optimal survival probability and find the optimal allocation function $K(x,t)$ exactly in these regions. As a consequence, we complete the proof of the "spend-it-all" conjecture of Bartroff et al. (2010b) which gives the boundary of the region where $K(x,t)=x$.