Applying New Metrics to Detect and Enumerate Kill Paths.

Maximizing military force efficiency requires taskingweapon systems across all echelons, domains, and services to achieve desired target effects. Early research on flexible kill chains led to the Information Age Combat Model (IACM), which uses a graph-analytic approach to represent connections in the battlespace. These principles are relevant to emerging concepts like Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2), enabling kill paths irrespective of branch and service alignment. However, the original metrics for evaluating kill chains are computationally intractable. This article proposes a newalgorithmthat enumerates and calculates metrics for all kill paths. Implemented as a computational decision support tool, this algorithmdetects and enumerates all kill paths, calculates values for attack vectors, and allocates influencers to targets both statically and dynamically as new targets are sensed. It also identifies critical components requiring special protection. The algorithm operates efficiently enough for use within simulations, providing a basis for command-and-control decisionmaking. Its feasibility, applicability, and computational efficiency are demonstrated through selected simulation runs. Although our demonstration utilizes IACM kill chains, the algorithm can be extended to various kill chain types and integrated into battle management systems for operational support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]