Locational analyses of military intelligence ground facilities

This paper has many contributions. First, an optimization model is developed for the design of ground intelligence systems, a routine task in military intelligence. The model turned out to be new in the location literature, differing from the classical p-median, maximal cover, set covering problems, etc. Second, the integrality of most model variables, an attribute that is most significant in terms of computational tractability, is shown analytically. The design of ground intelligence system is not a trivial task and design quality might be critical to the success of the intelligence operation. The model presented in the paper constitutes an effective and efficient tool that can significantly enhance design quality. Third, insights are gained through computational experiments, including some non-intuitive results such as the large target coverage that can be obtained by very few facilities. Finally, applicative extensions are discussed in detail.