Canonical momenta of nonlinear combat

Abstract

The context of nonlinear combat calls for more sophisticated measures of effectiveness. We present a set of tools that can be used as such supplemental indicators, based on stochastic nonlinear multivariate modeling used to benchmark Janus simulation to exercise data from the U.S. Army National Training Center (NTC). As a prototype study, a strong global optimization tool, adaptive simulated annealing (ASA), is used to explicitly fit Janus data, deriving coefficients of relative measures of effectiveness, and developing a sound intuitive graphical decision aid, canonical momentum indicators (CMI), faithful to the sophisticated algebraic model. We argue that these tools will become increasingly important to aid simulation studies of the importance of maneuver in combat in the 21st century.