OPTIMIZING AMMUNITION MANAGEMENT IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

Ammunition is crucial to Singapore’s defense readiness and national security, especially considering global events like the Russia–Ukraine conflict. Challenges faced by Singapore include low peacetime usage, restricted storage capacities, and significant disposal costs of obsolete ammunition, highlighting a need for efficient ammunition stockpile management. Our thesis introduces an optimization model to guide procurement strategies, determine optimal resource allocation between local production and overseas purchases, and recommend appropriate stockpile quantities to optimize the overall lifecycle cost of ammunition. Our model further analyzes the implications of modulating production rates, available component quantities for local production, base production units for an operational production department, and transition expenses of production from dormant to operational states. Leveraging linear programming, our study analyzes 30 specific ammunition items, gauging them against local production proficiencies. By incorporating modular storage management, our model ensures a balance between maintaining a robust ammunition stockpile and cost efficiency. Our model therefore presents our ammunition stockpile manager with an invaluable tool tailored for enhanced ammunition management.