This module can be taken as a Short Course for Credit or a Standalone Short Course.

Please go to the 'Upgrade to a professional qualification' section for more information.

This course offers details of war games and combat models across a broad range of types. It covers many of the methods used in the modelling of combat and their application in support of key decisions and in the training of military and civilian personnel.

At a glance

  • Dates
    • Please enquire for course dates
  • Duration5 days
  • Location¹û½´ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø at Shrivenham
  • Cost

    £2,350 Short Course for Credit fee

    £2,100 Standalone Shortcourse fee

    Concessions available

Course structure

Hands-on practical activities and workshops to reinforce lecture presentations by allowing students to use real examples against set analysis problems guest speakers from industry and defence (MoD) who share and discuss their experiences of wargaming and combat modelling in practical applications.

What you will learn

On successful completion of the course you will be able to:
  • Critically appraise the full range of war games and combat simulations and apply them to defence problem,
  • Use the deterministic and stochastic Lanchester equations to represent combat between both homogeneous and heterogeneous forces,
  • Use interactive computer based representations of military operations,
  • Explain how the different methods of representing the operations of military forces are used in the training, testing and assessment of those forces and their equipment.

Core content

  • Introduction: An introduction to the methods used in combat modelling and their application in support of defence decision making and training.
  • Combat Simulation: The basic principles of discrete event Monte Carlo simulations of combat, illustrated through the use of a simple engagement model. Extension of the concepts to allow more realistic representation of the battlefield. Aggregated models of combat.
  • Lanchester’s Equations: The deterministic and stochastic Lanchester equations for direct and indirect fire as used for both homogeneous and heterogeneous forces. The application of Lanchester’s equations in current models of combat.
  • War Gaming/lnteractive Simulation: The underlying principles of war gaming and the interactive simulation of combat as used for the assessment, testing and training of military forces and their equipment. The synthetic battlefield. Synthetic Environments: Constructive, virtual and live simulations of combat. Manual Combat Wargames. Other gaming techniques.
  • War Gaming and Combat Modelling Practicals: The practical application of war gaming and combat modelling with issues such as : data and scenarios, terrain modelling, combat algorithms (attrition and movement), the representation of human factors, measures of effectiveness, the verification and validation of combat models, automated forces, simulation for training and distributed simulation.

Upgrade to a professional qualification

When taken as a Short Course for Credit, 10 credit points can be put towards either the Defence Simulation and Modelling MSc or Military Operational Research MSc.

Find out more about short course credit points.


Who should attend

This course is suitable for those requiring a general knowledge of the techniques used in war gaming, combat simulations and analytic battle models. It would be highly relevant to weapon system engineers, operational and system analysts and customers of analysis reports and outputs.

Speakers

Cranfield Staff

Industrial Speakers

The course programme typically includes speakers from Dstl and the wider UK defence industry.

Concessions

A limited number of MOD sponsored places are available. 

There are limited places on these modules. You may not receive an offer until places have been confirmed, usually 1 to 2 weeks before the start date.

Location and travel

Cranfield Defence and Security (CDS) is a Cranfield School based at the Ministry of Defence establishment on the Oxfordshire/Wiltshire borders.

Shrivenham itself lies in the picturesque Vale of the White Horse, close to the M4 motorway which links London and South Wales. It is 7 miles from Swindon, the nearest town, which lies off the M4 at the hub of Britain’s motorway network.

Bath, Cheltenham, Bristol and Oxford are all within an hour’s drive and London less than two hours away by car.

All visitors must be pre-booked in at reception by the person they are visiting on the campus.

For further location and travel details

How to apply

To apply for this course please use the online application form.

Read our Professional development (CPD) booking conditions.