Combined with failure propagation model, the importance evaluation and critical node identification of five functional nodes of combat system are presented

Xi'an High-Tech Research Institute - Xi'an, China

Received: 28 August 2025
Accepted: 27 March 2026

Abstract

To address node heterogeneity, complex functional dependences, and the limited ability of traditional metrics to capture system-level failure impacts in combat networks, this paper proposes a node-importance evaluation and critical-node identification method that couples failure propagation modeling with flow-blockage theory. We first construct a directed heterogeneous network with five functional node types and explicitly define their resource interfaces and dependency paths. An improved threshold-based propagation mechanism and a composite influence function integrating propagation probability, neighbor overlap, and the KHC topological index are then introduced, and a propagation-efficiency coupled identification algorithm is developed using the max-flow/min-cut principle to quantify traffic degradation under failures. Simulations across multiple failure scenarios and network topologies show that the proposed method significantly outperforms conventional centrality measures in identifying system-level high-loss nodes, yielding more actionable, task-chain–focused results with strong adaptability and robustness. These findings provide theoretical and algorithmic support for combat-network vulnerability assessment, resilient command-system design, and suppression-path planning.