A macro level analysis of the airlift deployment problem

This paper presents mathematical models for a macro level analysis of the airlift deployment problem which involves the allocation of a limited number of aircraft towards the shipment of cargo and personnel between many origins and destinations within prescribed time windows. The problem has been modeled by three linear programming formulations in a manner such that it can be solved in a personal computer environment in a timely manner. The first and second formulations represent an explicit statement of the problem. These formulations attempt to optimally allocate strategic airlift resources towards the shipment of demand (cargo and personnel) such that the maximum amount of demand is delivered on time using preferred aircraft types. A much smaller statement of the problem is achieved in the third formulation by assuming that lateness is distributed evenly over all routes. Thus, the formulations offer a tradeoff between the degree of control to be exercised by the planner and the speed of computation. The paper presents the basic structure of these formulations along with some test results.