SAPEVO-PC: Integrating Multicriteria Decision Support and Machine Learning to Evaluate Warships

This study presents the SAPEVO-PC method, an evolution of the SAPEVO family that integrates a multicriteria decision support method and machine learning to support the selection of Navy ships, a critical process in ensuring national sovereignty. SAPEVO-PC allows the inclusion of qualitative preferences along with quantitative data, incorporating concepts from principal component analysis, improving accuracy and simplicity in decision making. A case study involving 32 warships and ten quantitative criteria demonstrated the practical application of the method. The resulting ratings balanced subjective preferences with objective measures of performance, showing consistency across multiple decision-makers. This study highlights the potential of SAPEVO-PC to improve the efficiency of decision-making in complex environments, such as the military, through robust and reliable analytics.