Evaluation of unmanned combat aerial vehicles using q-rung orthopair fuzzy entropy based multi-attribute border approximation area comparison method

Unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) have become an indispensable part of modern military operations. As they can be used for both defensive and offensive purposes, they play a crucial role in shaping military strategies and improving the operational capabilities of security forces. Many countries are investing in UCAV technology and placing these vehicles at the centre of their defence strategies. Choosing the right UCAV enables a country to strengthen its national security and its position in international relations by enhancing its defence capabilities. This study considers the evaluation of UCAVs as a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) problem. In the study, the q-ROF (q-rung orthopair fuzzy) entropy-based MABAC (Multi-Attribute Border Approximation Area Comparison) method is proposed as a new integrated MCDM technique to solve the problem. The theoretical framework of the proposed method is explained in detail and applied to an UCAV selection problem. In practise, fourteen different UCAV alternatives were evaluated based on nine criteria (length, wingspan, height, empty weight, maximum takeoff weight, payload capacity, maximum cruising speed, maximum altitude, duration in the air). As a result of the application, the best-performing alternative was identified as UCAV-9 (A9). In addition, the results of the proposed method were compared with the results of the classical q-ROF MABAC, q-ROF MAIRCA (Multi Attributive Ideal-Real Comparative Analysis), q-ROF TOPSIS (Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution), q-ROF CRITIC-EDAS (Criteria Importance through Inter-criteria Correlation-Evaluation based on Distance from Average Solution), and q-ROF BWM-MARCOS (Best–Worst-Method-Measurement of Alternatives and Ranking according to COmpromise Solution) methods. UCAV-9 (A9) emerged as the strongest alternative based on the comparison analysis. In addition, two different sensitivity analyses were also carried out. The sensitivity analysis on the criteria weights revealed that the alternatives were highly influenced by these weights. Based on these results, it can be concluded that this study offers a practical framework for countries to select the appropriate UCAV and makes a significant contribution to the literature in this field.