TLDR Dev · MISCELLANEOUS

MISSILE DEFENSE IS NP-COMPLETE

smu160.github.io12 min read

Summary from the TLDR Dev newsletter

Missile defense is a complex resource allocation problem where the probability of success is reduced by factors like detection and tracking that adversaries can actively degrade. Allocating limited interceptors against multiple incoming warheads is an NP-hard problem, and current inventories aren't enough to reliably counter even modest attacks.