Exploring naval tactics with UAVs in an island complex using agent-based simulation

Abstract

The benefits of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) at sea are undisputed. The amount and speed of the incoming information from a UAV, combined with its maneuverability and "time-on-task" capability, are assets to any navy. For the Greek Navy, the main local operation area is the Aegean and Ionian Sea. As Greece lies between three continents (Europe, Asia, Africa), there is a great deal of sea traffic and potential illegal activities, such as smuggling, exploitation of illegal immigrants, and possible terrorist activity. The scope of this study is to explore naval tactics with UAVs in an island complex using Agent-Based Simulation. MANA (Map Aware Non-uniform Automata) software, used in this study, provides a visual and realistic background to conduct simulations of real operations involving many different entities. This thesis demonstrates that this type of software can rapidly produce, explore and check simulated naval tactics before actual implementation. It also shows how the UAV's technology plays a key role in a search and detection operation, whereas the enemy must rely mostly on his tactics.