Effects of lethality in naval combat models

In the context of both discrete time salvo models and continuous time Lanchester models we examine the effect on naval combat of lethality: that is, the relative balance between the offensive and defensive attributes of the units involved. We define three distinct levels of lethality and describe the distinguishing features of combat for each level. We discuss the implications of these characteristics for naval decision-makers; in particular, we show that the usefulness of the intuitive concept "more is better" varies greatly depending on the lethality level. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.