Architecture for comparing alternative designs of a tactical naval command and control system using discrete-event simulation

Research was conducted recently at Naval Postgraduate School focusing on the development of a system architecture for a tactical naval Command and Control (C2) system. The system architecture methodology started with describing an operational concept, moved to the co-development of the functional architecture and the physical architecture, and concluded with the development of a notional operational architecture. A portion of the contact prosecution process for a Surface Action Group (SAG) involved in securing local sea control was modeled in the discrete-event simulation software Arena®, and this effort is the focus of this paper. Simulations for both potential alternative designs were conducted. Finally, a comparison of the simulation results demonstrated the feasibility of the developed architecture framework to compare alternative designs of the C2 system.