PurposeThis study synthesizes defense and aerospace supply-chain literature to identify and organize risks and resilience mechanisms relevant to the industrial, maintenance, and sustainment systems supporting military aviation, with particular attention to aircraft availability and operational continuity.Design/methodology/approachA systematic review of Scopus and Web of Science identified 20 studies addressing defense, military and aerospace supply chains. Following a PRISMA-based selection process, risk and resilience statements were extracted, thematically coded, supported by lexical matching and manually reviewed.FindingsFour risk clusters were identified, Physical/Cybersecurity, Strategic Dependency, Hostile External Environment and Inefficient Management, and five resilience clusters, Structural Preparedness, Adaptive Response, Operational Intelligence, Strategic Cooperation, and Critical Sustainment. Together, they show how readiness depends on industrial capacity, maintenance continuity, information, adaptation and cooperation.Research limitations/implicationsThe corpus is limited to two overlapping databases, title-based queries, retrievable full texts and 20 studies. Grey literature and specialized defense repositories are not systematically covered. The clusters should therefore be interpreted as a preliminary taxonomy requiring validation across countries and aviation programs.Practical implicationsThe study links strategic stocks, supplier diversification, predictive monitoring, rapid reconfiguration, allied cooperation and lifecycle sustainment to operational continuity.Social implicationsStronger military aviation supply chains support national security and the continuity of strategic public capabilities during conflict or systemic disruption.Originality/valueThe study offers a disaggregated taxonomy of risks and resilience mechanisms relevant to military aviation supply chains, connecting technical, industrial, organizational, geopolitical and sustainment dimensions while distinguishing aviation-specific evidence from transferable evidence drawn from adjacent contexts.
PurposeThis study develops and applies a multicriteria decision-support model to evaluate maritime patrol aircraft alternatives in the context of Brazilian Air Force strategic planning.Design/methodology/approachThe study considers nine aircraft alternatives and ten quantitative evaluation criteria. Three Brazilian Air Force officers, including engineers and operations officers, participated in unstructured interviews to help identify and confirm the criteria and alternatives. Aircraft performance data were obtained from the Military Power database and cross-checked against information available on manufacturers’ websites. The Preference Selection Index (PSI) was used to derive objective, data-driven criterion weights, while the Combined Compromise Solution (CoCoSo) method was used to rank the alternatives. Sensitivity analysis was conducted using three values of the compromise parameter.FindingsIn the baseline scenario, the Kawasaki P-1 was the highest-ranked alternative, followed by the Tu-142 and the P-8 Poseidon. Although the final scores varied slightly across the three tested values of the compromise parameter, none of the alternatives changed position, indicating stability within the tested parameter settings.Originality/valueThe study’s contribution is primarily applied. It provides a transparent framework for preliminary screening of maritime patrol aircraft using quantitative and monotonic criteria when defensible subjective weights are unavailable, while explicitly recognizing that the framework is not a complete acquisition model.
PurposeThe purpose of this work is to identify optimal air-defense locations in a multi-objective (MO) setting considering multiple and sometimes competing objectives within a large search space at the national scale.Design/methodology/approachFirst, a mathematical MO maximal covering location problem is formulated. This formulation includes the following three objectives: (1) providing coverage to densely populated areas, (2) providing coverage to areas having high residential and commercial property value and (3) providing coverage to infrastructure of national or regional significance. Three algorithms are applied to solve the problem, and their performance compared (1) Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II), (2) an augmented NSGA-II-A and (3) Strength Pareto Evolutationary Algorithm II (SPEA-II).FindingsWithin the context of our computing environment, specific parameter settings, implementations and case instances, our results indicate that the NSGA-II-A algorithm outperforms both the NSGA-II and SPEA-II algorithms in that the NSGA-II-A algorithm concentrates solutions toward the estimated Pareto front within reasonable computational effort.Originality/valueThe originality of this study lies in its integrated approach to defense location planning, combining multiple defense-resource types, point- and area-based coverage priorities and an application-specific non-overlap requirement within a single decision-support model. The model is demonstrated using real-world geospatial data at resolutions as fine as a 5-km grid.
PurposeMilitary logistics (MiL) encompasses a broad range of interdependent functions across organizational levels, geographic contexts and operational conditions, yet its conceptual boundaries remain fragmented. This study aims to conceptualize and visualize the core dimensions of MiL and their interdependencies across peacetime, mobilization and wartime operations.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopts an exploratory approach. Empirical insights were generated through nine expert workshops involving MiL specialists and Swedish Armed Forces officers. Through an iterative abstraction process combining literature and empirical evidence, the study develops a conceptual framework that integrates functional, organizational, geographic and operational dimensions of MiL.FindingsThe findings conceptualize MiL as a multidimensional, adaptive system linking strategic, operational and tactical levels. Effective MiL requires scalability between peace and war, flexible boundaries between military and civilian systems, lifecycle management of materiel, civil–military integration and multinational interoperability. The analysis demonstrates that increasing operational distance, intensity and uncertainty substantially expand logistical complexity and requirements.Originality/valueThe study advances MiL theory by identifying 12 core dimensions and integrating them within an empirically informed conceptual framework. The framework extends existing definitions and functional classifications by clarifying the relational and context-dependent character of MiL and its role in military readiness and operational effectiveness.
PurposeThis study investigates how command, control and leadership mechanisms enable supply chain resilience (SCRES) in wartime military logistics, addressing a gap in empirical research on organizational and command factors under adversarial conditions.Design/methodology/approachWe collected survey data (n = 82) from logistics experts in the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) and analyzed the structural relationships among mission command (MC), leader–member exchange (LMX), planning (PLAN), visibility (VIS), responsiveness (RESP) and recovery (REC) using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) combined with necessary condition analysis (NCA).FindingsThe structural model yielded predictive relevance (R2 RESP = 0.705, R2 REC = 0.415). RESP emerged as the strongest predictor of REC (β = 0.542), the central mediating pathway to resilience outcomes. MC strongly predicted RESP (β = 0.477), indirectly influencing REC through this pathway. MC and RESP showed close empirical overlap, plausibly reflecting MC's doctrinal role in producing responsiveness, though this warrants cautious interpretation. LMX strengthened resilience indirectly by supporting MC. NCA revealed that VIS and MC function as necessary conditions for achieving high REC, even when their direct effects are nonsignificant in SEM.Originality/valueBy integrating PLS-SEM with NCA, we offer a leadership-centered explanation of SCRES in wartime military operations. The findings are consistent with perceptual evidence of NATO-aligned MC practices among surveyed UAF logistics personnel, underscoring their role in sustaining supply chain resilience. These insights primarily inform military logistics, with potential relevance for how command-and-control affects resilience in other high-stakes environments.
