Date of Award

3-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Operations Research

Department

Department of Operational Sciences

First Advisor

Lance E. Champagne, PhD

Abstract

Since the introduction of the first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), UAVs have consistently improved in capability and versatility. The ability to perform military operations without the risk of losing human life is crucial for the United States military. The trade-off for this versatility is cost, and several ongoing research efforts are being made to improve UAV mission success and the lifespan of UAVs. An area of research that falls under the categories mentioned is self-damage detection. The Air Force Research Laboratories (AFRL) are developing a capability to enable a UAV to assess airframe damage, enabling real-time determination of damage potentially useful for decisions on operational worthiness. This research investigates the potential military value associated with this capability. Using a carefully designed simulation-based experiment along with statistical methods, we analyzed the effect of the capability on three key mission performance metrics: survivability, lethality, and logistic performance. Results showed the capability had statistically significant improvements to survivability and logistic performance, which could justify future implementation.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-ENS-MS-25-M-201

Comments

An embargo was observed for posting this thesis.

This work is marked Distribution A, Approved for Public Release. PA case number 88ABW-2025-0301

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