Multi-party valuation of combat force potential by the analytic hierarchy process

Abstract

This study focuses on a hierarchical weapon systems valuation model framework and investigates the applicability of the Analytic Hierarch Process(AHP) in establishing relative values of military wepon systems. One of the major obstacles in military weapon valuations has been the difficulty in soliciting subjective values of relevant factors from military experts by a direct rating method. Using the pairwise comparison of AHP, on the other hand, evaluators can concentrate on only two objects at one time without concerning themselves with consistency with other pairs in comparison. Currently, the advantages of AHP appeal increasingly to many Korean military experts in the comparison and selection processes of weapon systems. In praacics, however they often face such problems as structuring a decision hierachy of the system in question, applying adequate numerical scales to the experts`` strength of feelings in paired comparisions, and aggregating group judgments with various individual information. The hierarchical structure for military weapon valuations in this study has it``s origin in the Weapon Effectiveness Index/Weighted Unit Value method (WEI/WUV) which uses a direct rating to assign a value to each criterion. This study constructs an explicit hierarchical network based on the AHP concept for WEI/WUV and modifies the conventional method for groud combat potential measurement. Building upon the experience of applying AHP to the ground weapon valuation in Korea, an extensive application of AHP to the air combat potential measurement has been undertaken. The static valuation of combat force potential demands the comparison of a wide category of heterogeneous weapons and requires a whole array of experts in warfare strategy, operational tactics and weapon performances. In order to accomodate multiparty expertise in a systematic manner, the hierarchical decomposition and integration process using the pairwise comparison concept characterized by AHP turns out t...