Object-oriented modelling and analysis of a Marine Corps communications architecture.

Abstract

The United States Marine Corps (USMC) will be fielding the SINCGARS frequency-hopping radio system during the next 5 years. There will be units within the Corps during the transition period in which both the conventional fixed-frequency radio and the SINCGARS radio will be employed in the same area at the same time. The Marine Corps Communications Architecture Analysis Model (MCCAAM) presented in this thesis will give Marine Corps decision makers, analysts, and communications officers the ability to quantify the effectiveness of alternative tactical radio system configurations within a given Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) environment. Using a unique traffic workload paradigm to generate realistic message traffic, this object-oriented simulation model assesses the overall performance of a given architecture with a specified mix of fixed-frequency and frequency-hopping radios through a penalty accrual process or through aggregating traditional communications MOEs. USMC decision makers and communications officers can use the results of the system performance rankings and associated sensitivity trade-off analysis to determine where best to allocate the new frequency hopping radios, as they become available, in order to maximize the overall FM communications performance of a given MAGTF.