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Aircraft selection modeling: a multi-step heuristic to enumerate airlift alternatives

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Abstract

We consider the use of the new C-130J-30 aircraft for long distance (strategic) cargo movement. Currently, only large aircraft, the C-5 and the C-17, are identified as strategic airlift assets by the United States Air Force. Our mathematical model identifies all logical airframe combinations to perform a cargo movement given a set of constraints. Using previously developed routing algorithms and fuel metrics, we evaluated the combinations and calculated the potential savings had the most fuel efficient combination been selected. Analyzing 1 month of historic data for four long distance routes, our proposed model suggests that savings could have been more than one million dollars.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Operational Sciences, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright Patterson AFB, OH, 45433, USA

    Jacob D. Maywald, Adam D. Reiman & Alan W. Johnson

  2. Department of Supply Chain and Information Systems, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA

    Robert E. Overstreet

Authors
  1. Jacob D. Maywald
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  2. Adam D. Reiman
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  3. Robert E. Overstreet
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  4. Alan W. Johnson
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Correspondence to Robert E. Overstreet.

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Maywald, J.D., Reiman, A.D., Overstreet, R.E. et al. Aircraft selection modeling: a multi-step heuristic to enumerate airlift alternatives. Ann Oper Res 274, 425–445 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-018-2933-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-018-2933-9

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