Reconfigurable command and control of large-scale systems and its application to military warfare

In this paper, a formal Command and Control (C2) structure is presented that allows for reliable addition/removal of missions and ad-hoc reconfiguration of tasks and resources for large-scale network-centric warfare (NCW). A mathematically justified software tool called the Reconfigurable Discrete Event Control (RDEC) is proposed by extending an existing framework using simple matrix decomposition. The RDEC effectively allows multiple fighting platforms of different interdisciplinary fields to join and leave the network easily in a “plug-and-play” manner. The proposed C2 structure is developed and demonstrated on a simulation study involving Singapore armed forces (SAF) team. Simulation results verify that the networked team is timely and fairly sequenced in real-time and the missions and resources are removed or added without blocking effect.