Samenvatting

Maritime security operations, such as counter-piracy operations, often take place in vast areas of open sea. This requires operating in a coalition task force consisting of multiple task units, each composed of a number of naval assets such as frigates, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). For the planning of these operations, we introduce a two-level approach. At the first level, the area of operations is divided into sectors and the available task units are assigned to these sectors. The second level consists of the tactical planning of the deployment of the individual assets of a task unit within the task units sector. In this paper, we propose algorithms to tackle both levels of planning. For maritime security operations in general, we introduce an allocation algorithm for dividing an area of operations, based on the capabilities of the individual task units, in such a way that the expected effectiveness of the task force as a whole is optimal. For counter-piracy operations, where the focus is on the prevention of pirate attacks on merchant vessels, a search planning algorithm is introduced that allows generating effective search plans for the deployment of the task units assets within a sector of the area of operations.