Optimizing Bulk Fuel Logistics for Warfighting Success
Bulk fuel logistics for military operations is big business. How big?
The Pentagon, the U.S. government’s largest purchaser and consumer of bulk fuel, reported spending $10.3 billion in 2022 to support the armed forces worldwide.
The takeaway: Optimal bulk fuel management is critical to ensuring America’s warfighters can accomplish their mission.
As the single manager for global bulk fuel logistics, U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) engaged MITRE in 2023 to design and prototype a decision-support tool to help meet the military’s fuel needs over long durations and in contested environments.
In collaboration with USTRANSCOM modelers and fuel planners, MITRE designed the initial Bulk Fuel Flow Optimization prototype, known as BUFFALO. This includes ongoing research to improve the tool’s optimization engine. It’s the first comprehensive optimization-model-based capability deployed to warfighting environments to aid the huge scope of bulk-fuel planning.
USTRANSCOM can leverage the tool to determine how much fuel is needed, how to get it where it needs to go, and how to adapt when circumstances change.
“We’re talking about theater-wide bulk-fuel plans looking ahead several months—an overwhelming number of options,” says MITRE’s Doug Altner, BUFFALO task lead.
Using BUFFALO, military planners can account for more considerations than humanly possible, automate and accelerate crucial analysis functions, and recommend the most-optimal plans, given myriad real-world conditions.