Evaluating the effectiveness of waterside security alternatives for force protection of Navy ships and installations using X3D graphics and agent-based simulation

Abstract

The individuals charged with the task of planning, developing and implementing force protection measures both at the unit and installation level must consider numerous factors in formulating the best defensive posture. Currently, force protection professionals utilize multiple sources of information regarding capabilities of systems that are available, and combine that knowledge with the requirements of their installation to create an overall plan. A crucial element missing from this process is the ability to determine, prior to system procurement, the most effective combination of systems and employment for a wide range of possible terrorist attack scenarios. This thesis is inspired by the work done by James Harney, LT, USN (2003). The thesis will expand the Anti-Terrorism Force Protection Tool developed during the original thesis by including the capability of testing force protection measures in multiple scenarios by utilizing models of force protection equipment and forces, virtual worlds of existing naval facilities, and terrorist agents that exhibit intent and behavioral characteristics which can test the effectiveness of the force protection equipment used. The result of this work is a scalable and repeatable methodology for generating large-scale, agent-based simulations for AT/FP problem domains providing 3D visualization, report generation, and statistical analysis.