A Multi-Objective Optimization Model for Sustainable and Efficient Aerial Refueling Scheduling

Recently, the solution of aerial refueling scheduling problems has become increasingly important. The aerial refueling scheduling problem can be defined as scheduling aircraft on tankers, where aircraft become available at ready times and should complete their tasks by the due dates. Long-distance flying requires refueling because aircraft range is limited by fuel tank capacities, and landing to refill the tank is not practical. To solve this problem, the aircraft’s endurance can be increased by performing aerial refueling while flying. This paper presents a new mixed-integer goal programming model for an aerial refueling scheduling problem with ready times, deterioration effect, and two objective functions: minimizing total tardiness and completion time. A novel fuzzy mixed-integer goal programming model is proposed along with a useful technique to solve an aerial refueling scheduling problem with ready times, deterioration effect and fuzzy refueling times. High achievement results were obtained by using a fuzzy model. The results show that fuzzy mixed-integer goal programming models can be used effectively for aerial refueling scheduling problems.