Mission Effectiveness Model for A System with Several Mission Types

Mission effectiveness, the probability of successfully completing an assigned mission, is an appropriate measure of effectiveness for a military system. A model of mission effectiveness is developed for a system which is required to carry out several types of missions. Each mission type is characterized by a maximum allowable duration of time that determines its success. Mission effectiveness for a system with several mission types is determined by the following four factors: availability at the start of a mission, mission reliability, effect of the environment, and effect of the operator. Effects of the environment and the operator are incorporated into the mission reliability. The model is solved by analytic and simulation approaches. With simulation, both a counting procedure and a renewal theory approach have been tried and compared. Simulation is easier to formulate for the problem at hand and easier to implement than the analytic approach in that it can be applied to empirical data without assuming a distribution for the data. The model is illustrated by a numerical example based on actual data taken from a test of a military weapon system. The model is a useful tool for the evaluation and optimum test design of military and telecommunication systems.