Allocation of clearance assets in IED warfare

This article deals with the optimal allocation of mine clearance resources to a network of roads that is continually being mined by an opponent. The motivating application is IED warfare as practiced in Iraq and Afghanistan. The situation differs from most mine warfare analyses in being protracted indefinitely in time, with the processes of mine placement by Red and mine clearance by Blue being intermixed. Each incident involving a Blue convoy and a Red mine removes the mine and possibly causes some damage to the convoy. Blue's object is to minimize the total damage rate by optimally deploying mine clearance forces to road segments.