Modeling Network Interdiction Tasks

Mission planners seek to target nodes and/or arcs in networks that have the greatest benefit for an operational plan. In joint interdiction doctrine, a top priority is to assess and target the enemy\u27s vulnerabilities resulting in a significant effect on its forces. An interdiction task is an event that targets the nodes and/or arcs of a network resulting in its capabilities being destroyed, diverted, disrupted, or delayed. Lessons learned from studying network interdiction model outcomes help to inform attack and/or defense strategies. A suite of network interdiction models and measures is developed to assist decision makers in identifying critical nodes and/or arcs to support deliberate and rapid planning and analysis. The interdiction benefit of a node or arc is a measure of the impact an interdiction task against it has on the residual network. The research objective is achieved with a two-fold approach. The measures approach begins with a network and uses node and/or arc measures to assess the benefit of each for interdiction. Concurrently, the models approach employs optimization models to explicitly determine the nodes and/or arcs that are most important to the planned interdiction task