NewVectors Projects

Improving Army Management of Ammunition through Innovative Modeling

Just-in-time Ammunition

Working with the Army, NewVectors has developed a software module called the Rapid Ammunition Planning Tool and Optimization Routine (RAPTOR). This flexible tool ensures the best use of limited resources to achieve specified goals. Currently configured to allocate ammunition, RAPTOR takes diverse inputs, such as budgets, stockpile levels, war fighting and training needs, war fighting analysis, and industrial base capability, and it determines the optimal time-phased strategy for managing the lifecycle of artillery and mortar ammunition.

RAPTOR generates a time-phased acquisition plan that lets the Army acquire ammunition at a rate that will satisfy training needs and stockpile requirements. At the same time, RAPTOR ensures optimal force-effectiveness and identifies inventory shortfalls and surpluses.

RAPTOR capability is expanding. During 2005, the tool was able to optimize all Army-managed ammunition and will be adopted by United States Marine Corps (USMC) ammunition managers. RAPTOR is also being modified to determine optimal procurement of spare parts from a catalog of over 45,000 items.

Fast, flexible, and designed to accommodate federal planning and budgeting, RAPTOR can be used for any resource optimization problem. It lets users quickly calculate an optimal plan that reflects organizational priorities within budget constraints. Finally, RAPTOR can be used for rapid development of alternate strategies due to, or in anticipation of, changes in plans.