{"id":{"repo_id":"nps","oai_identifier":"oai:calhoun.nps.edu:10945/74729"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/nps/oai:calhoun.nps.edu:10945/74729","repository":{"repo_id":"nps","name":"Naval Postgraduate School","base_url":"https://calhoun.nps.edu/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"DRONE SWARMING TACTICS IN A CONTESTED ENVIRONMENT","abstract":"Drone swarms have emerged as a defining feature of modern warfare. This thesis uses agent-based simulation to examine how force composition, weapon technology, and decoy tactics shape the outcomes of swarm attacks. The model pits a layered defender equipped with a mix of weapon and sensor systems to protect an asset against an attacker who employs suppression drones to degrade defenses, lethal drones to strike the target, and decoy drones to overwhelm defensive firepower. We study 23 factors--such as the number of anti-aircraft guns, the ability of sensors to distinguish lethal drones from decoy drones, and drone speed--using a nearly orthogonal and balanced design of experiments to identify which factors most influence mission success. Our analysis shows that the defender's success depends less on the number of systems and more on their placement, rate of fire, and classification accuracy, while the attacker's success depends on concentrated, lethal-heavy drone compositions supported by decoys rather than sheer swarm size.","abstract_html":"Drone swarms have emerged as a defining feature of modern warfare. This thesis uses agent-based simulation to examine how force composition, weapon technology, and decoy tactics shape the outcomes of swarm attacks. The model pits a layered defender equipped with a mix of weapon and sensor systems to protect an asset against an attacker who employs suppression drones to degrade defenses, lethal drones to strike the target, and decoy drones to overwhelm defensive firepower. We study 23 factors--such as the number of anti-aircraft guns, the ability of sensors to distinguish lethal drones from decoy drones, and drone speed--using a nearly orthogonal and balanced design of experiments to identify which factors most influence mission success. Our analysis shows that the defender's success depends less on the number of systems and more on their placement, rate of fire, and classification accuracy, while the attacker's success depends on concentrated, lethal-heavy drone compositions supported by decoys rather than sheer swarm size.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Soon, Wei Kang"],"institution":"Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Operations Research (OR)","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Lin, Kyle Y."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-09","date_published":"2025-09","updated_at":"2026-07-27T20:26:50Z","subjects":[],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright is reserved by the copyright owner."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10945/74729","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Lin, Kyle Y."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Operations Research (OR)"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Soon, Wei Kang"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2026-03-05T17:52:57Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2026-03-05T17:52:57Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2025-09"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright is reserved by the copyright owner."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10945/74729"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Drone swarms have emerged as a defining feature of modern warfare. This thesis uses agent-based simulation to examine how force composition, weapon technology, and decoy tactics shape the outcomes of swarm attacks. The model pits a layered defender equipped with a mix of weapon and sensor systems to protect an asset against an attacker who employs suppression drones to degrade defenses, lethal drones to strike the target, and decoy drones to overwhelm defensive firepower. We study 23 factors--such as the number of anti-aircraft guns, the ability of sensors to distinguish lethal drones from decoy drones, and drone speed--using a nearly orthogonal and balanced design of experiments to identify which factors most influence mission success. Our analysis shows that the defender's success depends less on the number of systems and more on their placement, rate of fire, and classification accuracy, while the attacker's success depends on concentrated, lethal-heavy drone compositions supported by decoys rather than sheer swarm size."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["DRONE SWARMING TACTICS IN A CONTESTED ENVIRONMENT"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Lin, Kyle Y."],"dc:contributor.department":["Operations Research (OR)"],"dc:creator":["Soon, Wei Kang"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2026-03-05T17:52:57Z"],"dc:date.available":["2026-03-05T17:52:57Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2025-09"],"dc:description.abstract":["Drone swarms have emerged as a defining feature of modern warfare. This thesis uses agent-based simulation to examine how force composition, weapon technology, and decoy tactics shape the outcomes of swarm attacks. The model pits a layered defender equipped with a mix of weapon and sensor systems to protect an asset against an attacker who employs suppression drones to degrade defenses, lethal drones to strike the target, and decoy drones to overwhelm defensive firepower. We study 23 factors--such as the number of anti-aircraft guns, the ability of sensors to distinguish lethal drones from decoy drones, and drone speed--using a nearly orthogonal and balanced design of experiments to identify which factors most influence mission success. Our analysis shows that the defender's success depends less on the number of systems and more on their placement, rate of fire, and classification accuracy, while the attacker's success depends on concentrated, lethal-heavy drone compositions supported by decoys rather than sheer swarm size."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/10945/74729"],"dc:publisher":["Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School"],"dc:rights":["Copyright is reserved by the copyright owner."],"dc:title":["DRONE SWARMING TACTICS IN A CONTESTED ENVIRONMENT"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T20:26:50Z"}