An optimal sequential optimization approach in application to dynamic weapon allocation in naval warfare

A sequential optimization technique is presented in application to the dynamic weapon-target allocation problem. This problem is in general NP-Complete. The purpose of the optimization technique is to decompose the original search space into a sequence of smaller subspaces. Optimization over these subspaces (still NP-Complete) is of reduced dimensionality. The sequential decomposition technique is proven to preserve optimality. This sequential optimization technique is applied to an illustrative weapon-target allocation example relevant to naval warfare.