A Games-in-Games Approach to Mosaic Command and Control Design of Dynamic Network-of-Networks for Secure and Resilient Multi-Domain Operations

TL;DR

The paper addresses securing and sustaining operations in network-of-networks under adversarial conditions by proposing mosaic design and a three-layer games-in-games framework. It develops Gestalt Nash equilibrium ($GNE$) as a cross-layer solution concept to couple $N$-person strategic, tactical, and mission-level games, enabling automated, self-adaptive composition of heterogeneous agents for $MDO$ contexts. The framework supports self-mitigation, self-healing, and graceful degradation, delivering a system-of-systems approach to resilient, multi-domain C2. A two-layer UAV/UGV case study demonstrates maintained connectivity and rapid attack recovery, illustrating practical viability for secure, resilient mosaic control in dynamic NoN.

Abstract

This paper presents a games-in-games approach to provide design guidelines for mosaic command and control that enables the secure and resilient multi-domain operations. Under the mosaic design, pieces or agents in the network are equipped with flexible interoperability and the capability of self-adaptability, self-healing, and resiliency so that they can reconfigure their responses to achieve the global mission in spite of failures of nodes and links in the adversarial environment. The proposed games-in-games approach provides a system-of-systems science for mosaic distributed design of large-scale systems. Specifically, the framework integrates three layers of design for each agent including strategic layer, tactical layer, and mission layer. Each layer in the established model corresponds to a game of a different scale that enables the integration of threat models and achieve self-mitigation and resilience capabilities. The solution concept of the developed multi-layer multi-scale mosaic design is characterized by Gestalt Nash equilibrium (GNE) which considers the interactions between agents across different layers. The developed approach is applicable to modern battlefield networks which are composed of heterogeneous assets that access highly diverse and dynamic information sources over multiple domains. By leveraging mosaic design principles, we can achieve the desired operational goals of deployed networks in a case study and ensure connectivity among entities for the exchange of information to accomplish the mission.

Figures (3)

• Figure 1: Games-in-Games framework for mosaic command and control design of secure and resilient networks-of-networks. The games-in-games framework contains three layers: strategic layer for attack and disruption consideration of each agent; tactical layer for interaction consideration between agents within and across different layers at each stage; and mission layer for moving-horizon planning to achieve multi-stage objective. Games at different layers can be composed together, leading to a flexible mosaic control design.
• Figure 2: (a) shows the evolutionary configuration of secure MAS network at each step with the consideration of jamming attack. (b) shows the corresponding network connectivity.
• Figure 3: (a) depicts a games-in-games framework for two-layer autonomous systems. (b) shows the iterative configuration of a two-layer autonomous network under mosaic control. (c) shows the corresponding network connectivity. The spoofing attack launches at step 35 and lasts for 6 steps. The network recovers and reaches a GNE quickly afterward.