Chairs: Stephen Bocquet, Paul Chircop

This session seeks papers on the development and application of mathematical and statistical models to Defence systems, including platforms, sensors, weapons, personnel, networks and military units, as well as the modelling and analysis of Defence operations and the operating environment.

Chairs: Tom Keevers, Andrew Gill

Data Analytics for Defence covers the development or application of advanced statistical or mathematical methods for the purpose of generating data-driven knowledge discovery concerning Defence capabilities or security operations. It includes supervised, unsupervised, and active learning methods applied to structured or unstructured data sets from military systems, personnel, operations or simulations. This session welcomes either theoretical or applied contributions consistent with this theme.

Chair(s): Niem Tri

Experimentation and wargaming is concerned with understanding and testing ideas on how to train, structure, equip and employ the military force. It is also about reducing risk and gaining insights into military operations. Done well, the rigorous examination of ideas is cost-effective and powerful because the methods are grounded on principles of experimental science. Further, it is one of the best ways to collect evidence and support Defence procurement by meeting the conditions of transparency, contestability and accountability. We seek papers for this session that will explore the advances in application and theory of this exciting field.

Chair(s): David Cox

Chair(s): Renée Kidson

Chair(s): David Matthews, Darryn Reid

Chair(s): David Marlow

This session seeks submissions that focus on modelling the capabilities that underpin and enable the successful prosecution of combat missions in a warfighting context.  These include, but are not limited to, sustainment (such as fleet scheduling and management, personnel training, logistics and supply chains) and supporting operations (such as aircraft or personnel availability).

Chair(s): Lucia Falzon, Alexei Filinkov

The Defence operational environment is fundamentally changing, trending to new types of warfare, resulting in new challenges for operations research. Security and stability depend on understanding the fundamental shifts in the operating environment on multiple levels, from the global and strategic down to the individual. Key factors and their impact at each level are especially important to understand:

• how humans change technology and shape the information environment and  how technology changes human behaviour
• the flow of information/influence - how this is affected by power relationships, individual cognition and choices, and network structure
• the mediated effects of the internet as a means of informing and influencing populations.

Papers in this session will explore analytical approaches, models and frameworks that take into account the interdependence of cultural, social, human & political factors for understanding the complexity inherent in the information environment.

Chair(s): Martin Cross, Edward Lo

Modelling and simulation (M&S) provides an avenue for researchers to study socio-technical systems, conduct analysis and make evidence based recommendations when other approaches are unreliable or unavailable. Simulation of combat operations serves as an excellent approach to investigating military problems in the fields of operations research, computer science and engineering.  Problems of interest may include testing of operating concepts and proposed capabilities for a fit for purpose force through to assessing operational plans before enactment. Application of M&S provides an indispensable tool for assessing efficiency and effectiveness of combat operations and overcomes limitations from alternative analytical approaches, particularly when ability to conduct experimentation in live exercises is limited. This session welcomes submissions that focus on analysing combat operations and operating concepts using M&S, agent-based and discrete-event simulations,  and advanced techniques such as data farming.

Chair(s): Thang Cao, Richard Taylor

We seek papers for this session across a range of methods that provide defence and security organisation decision support and superiority in increasingly complex defence contexts. These methods may involve, but are not limited to the modelling of uncertainty, quantitative data and qualitative judgements. They may also need to weigh choices affected by multiple criteria or a range of responses to choice options by other parties