The future of European defence policy: An economic perspective

European defence policy has been dominated by politics. This paper shows how economic principles can be used to derive guidelines for the formulation of European defence policy. The inefficiencies of the EU's existing defence arrangements are identified. It is shown that there is scope for efficiency improvements in the EU's Armed Forces and its defence industries.     

The Freemasons' Sword of State Presented by Thomas, 8th Duke of Norfolk,to Mark His Year of Offi ce as 13th Grand Master of Grand Lodge, 1730, Signed 'Frater G. Moody,Fecit', now at Freemasons' Hall,London

Abstract

The Freemasons' Sword of State presented by Thomas, 8th Duke of Norfolk in 1730, a token made by the royal sword-cutler, freemason and swordbearer, George Moody, is described and illustrated. The sword's presentation is discussed, the gift is placed into its historical context, its iconography is assessed and the life of the manufacturer is examined. Two other relevant swords at Freemasons' Hall, London are also discussed.     

电磁发射弹丸飞行弹道仿真

针对电磁发射弹丸飞行弹道进行仿真研究，在建立刚体六自由度飞行弹道模型的基础上，采用时频分析和涡流分析方法，建立电磁-动力学耦合模型分析弹丸出膛时由于膛内振动带来的炮口扰动，采用动网格技术建立电磁-气动耦合模型分析弹托分离产生的气动扰动，从而得到了电磁发射弹丸的飞行弹道模型。以得克萨斯大学先进技术研究所设计的IAT-HVP为例，仿真分析了弹丸以1117 m/s初速、0°射角出膛时弹丸出口扰动对弹体速度和气动特性的影响，并得到其飞行200 m的弹道曲线。仿真结果表明，受电磁发射一体化弹丸出口扰动的影响，弹体落点相比理想弹道产生了24%的偏差，其中炮口扰动引起的偏差最大，其次是弹托分离。     

Royal Armouries Acquisitions 2012

Abstract

The Royal Armouries collection contains many Indian combination weapons, many of which have neither been published nor displayed. This article sets out to describe three unusual firearm related items. These are what appears to be an elaborate gunner's staff of a unique type, a pair of guns that can be combined and shot as a combination and finally a percussion gun shield.     

Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey Bt. and the Study of Medieval and Ancient Projectile Weapons

Abstract

Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey is best known nowadays as the author of The Crossbow (1903) which remains a reliable introduction to the study of this weapon. Based on experiments with mediaeval weapons he had restored and the work of two research assistants it covers the development of the weapon from the early middle ages to the nineteenth century. He also made scale models and one third replicas of ancient ballistas, which he tested on his estate at Thirkleby, Yorkshire and at Fort Belan, adjacent to the Menai straits. Using a crossbow he shot an arrow and hurled a stone ball from a ballista, over the narrows, a distance of about a quarter of a mile. Arrowthrowing, shooting with the Turkish composite bow as well as the Indian quoit and the boomerang all demonstrate an interest not only in exotic and unusual weapons but also in the science of ballistics. This he showed to friends at Thirkleby, to enthusiastic audiences at the Royal Toxophilite Society meetings and more formally at the Royal Institution in 1908. The text of his lecture was subsequently printed and is reproduced here. These ballistic experiments led to the design of a golf ball with a reticulated surface and his unique 'roller' golf club.     

Addressing the “headwinds” faced by the European arms industry

ABSTRACT

The European arms industry is challenged by several adverse “headwinds.” Fragmentation leads to costly duplications and, in conjunction with stagnating budgets and sharply increasing costs, prevents firms from exploiting economies of scale and learning. This is exacerbated by size differentials vis-a-vis the leading US arms manufacturers and competition from emerging producers. As some “headwinds” are self-enforcing, far-reaching industrial and policy responses are required to improve the industry's outlook. As exports may not indefinitely compensate for low domestic demand, there is an economic imperative for further cross-border collaboration and consolidation. Despite various EU policy initiatives, progresses regarding the European Defence Equipment Market and strengthening the European Defence Technological Industrial Base have been relatively slow. It remains to be seen whether the European Defence Fund will be the proclaimed “game-changer,” raising competitiveness of the European arms industry. At the same time, the UK's withdrawal from the EU adds uncertainties.     

The Naval Intelligence Underpinnings of Reagan's Maritime Strategy

Washington's so-called Maritime Strategy, which sought to apply US naval might against Soviet vulnerabilities on its maritime flanks, came to full fruition during the 1980s. The strategy, which witnessed a major buildup of US naval forces and aggressive exercising in seas proximate to the USSR, also explicitly targeted Moscow”s strategic missile submarines with the aim of pressuring the Kremlin during crises or the early phases of global war. Relying on a variety of interviews and newly declassified documents, the authors assert that the Maritime Strategy represents one of the rare instances in history when intelligence helped lead a nation to completely revise its concept of military operations.     

Why Pakistan failed: tribal focoism in Kashmir

The classical repertoire of insurgency types is under-specified, and does not apply well to the case of Pakistan's conduct of insurgency in Kashmir. Pakistan's approach to insurgency has been a consistent tribal variant of focoism, in which there is a reliance on imported itinerant insurgents to conduct raids to stimulate an uprising. This has its basis in the traditional warfare of the region, learned US insurgency doctrine in the 1960s, and an historical disregard for subject populations, which has led to an aversion to fostering grass-roots political movements.     

The Czech defence and security industry: taking the pulse to an ailing man

ABSTRACT

The paper summarises the evolution of the iron triangle of the mutual relationships amongst the ministry of defence, defence industry, and the political elite in the post-communist Czech Republic in 1990-2020. The essay stresses the oddness of this relationship. On the one hand, the government is bound by a partnership to the Defence and Security Industry Association of the Czech Republic (DSIA), a lobbying group of more than 100 organisations that conduct business in defence and security sector in Czechia. Yet, since its creation in 2000, this assemblage of industries within DSIA's market position is falling, in fact. Neither political parties in power, nor the governments have been able to support national defence industry through the small military. Just a few DSIA national members are able to compete internationally with their cutting-edge products. Others have evolved into middlemen trading intime-expired Czechoslovak equipment retired from the Czech Armed Forces.     

Burning characteristics of high density foamed GAP/CL-20 propellants

The monolithic foamed propellants with high densities were prepared by casting and two-step foaming processes. Glycidyl azide polymer (GAP) and isocyanate were used as the binder system and 2,4,6,8,10,12-hexanitro-2,4,6,8,10,12-hexaazaisowurtzitane (HNIW, CL-20) was employed as the energetic component. The newly designed formulation containing 60 % CL-20 produced a force constant of 1077 J/g and low flame temperature of 2817 K. Two foamed propellants with densities of 1.32 g/cm³ and 1.53 g/cm³ were fabricated by a confined foaming process and examined by closed bomb tests. The results revealed that porosity significantly affects burning performance. A size effect on combustion behaviors was observed for the foamed propellant with 5.56 % porosity, and a double-hump progressive dynamic vivacity curve was obtained. At last, the 30 mm gun test was carried out to demonstrate the interior ballistic performance, and the muzzle velocity increased by 120 m/s at the same maximum chamber pressure when monolithic propellant was added in the charge.     

The Race that wasn't

ABSTRACT

Graham Farmelo's new book on the early British nuclear weapon program assembles a fascinating cast of characters in a gripping narrative. It particularly succeeds at illustrating the importance of “atomic energy” imagery in the United Kingdom well before the discovery of fission, and provides nuanced insights into Churchill's handling of issues relating to the atomic bomb and scientific expertise. However, in arguing that the British had a “lead” on the manufacture of atomic bombs that was “lost” to the United States during the early Manhattan Project, the book overstates its case, and in the process misunderstands what it took to make the bomb.     

The origin of internal security in Colombia: Part I — A CIA special team surveys La Violencia, 1959–60

In October 1959 the Eisenhower administration dispatched a CIA Special Team to survey the violence problem in Colombia. This article, part one of a two‐part series, examines this first significant attempt by a US administration to influence that nation's internal security situation. It investigates the Special Team's actions and analyses its recommendations for transforming Colombia's conventionally‐orientated security forces. The Team's survey, which focuses on counter‐insurgency tactics, civil action, intelligence operations, psychological warfare, and covert action, is the foundation from which Colombia's modern internal security structures are derived.     

Power and influence in post-secession South Sudan: A leadership perspective on nation-building

ABSTRACT

Following South Sudan's secession in 2011, the country faced significant political, social and economic challenges. The country emerged from a long andarduous nation-building journey, including almost 50 years of violent conflict, that would continue after declaring independence. This nation-building process would suffer a significant set-back in December 2013 when the most recent civil war broke out. This article provides a new perspective on South Sudan's nation-building trajectory that tends towards violence and complicates peace-building. It does so by utilising the leadership process approach from the Leadership Studies literature. While popular literature and commentary tends to fault the South Sudanese elite for the current crisis, there has not been a systematic effort to understand the leadership challenge and its role in conflict, peace and nation-building in South Sudan. In this article, South Sudan's nation-building process and its three primary components of (a) identity construction, (b) statehood and (c) collective will and responsibility, are analysed from a leadership perspective, focusing on issues of power and influence. The conclusion is reached that South Sudan's nation-building has been and will likely continue to trend towards a violent process due to a leadership process that lacks mutuality and is founded on insufficient sources of power.     

Property distribution and configurations of sovereign states: A rational economic model

A nation's wealth is both an object of conquest to covetous aggressors and a resource to its owners for self defense. To maintain autonomy every country must mount a defense which either makes its capture (1) more expensive than any aggressor can afford, or (2) more expensive than it is worth to aggressors. Whether this condition can be satisfied for all countries simultaneously depends as shown in this paper on relative efficacy of military offense versus defense, the aggregate of wealth among nations and its distribution, and the benefits a conqueror may obtain from conquest, including the duration of these benefits. The paper shows how these factors fit together to determine the sustainability and stability of the international distribution of property as embodied in the configuration of sovereign states.     

Feeding the Lion: China and defence development in African states

ABSTRACT

In analysing trends in Chinese defence engagement and their impact on defence development in African states, it is important to consider both China's changing policy priorities and its capabilities for the provision of defence support. China's international ambitions and its economic development contribute to its emergence as a key supporter of defence capability development in Africa, occupying a crucial niche as a provider of support, particularly arms transfers, appropriate to evolving local requirements. The economic and politico-military imperatives driving China's engagement of Africa, which stem from its economic reforms and re-emergence as a great power, are facilitating defence modernisation by accelerating the introduction of modern arms in substantial quantities. The commercial importance of arms exports and the growing importance of strategic ties strongly situate China to help sustain processes of defence capability development in African states over the long term.     

The Power of the NPT: International Norms and Ukraine's Nuclear Disarmament

ABSTRACT

There is a lingering disagreement among scholars on how the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) affects nonproliferation and disarmament outcomes. Drawing on constructivist scholarship on international norms, this article examines the extent of the NPT's effect in the case of Ukraine's nuclear disarmament. In the wake of the Soviet Union's collapse, Ukraine found itself host to the world's third largest nuclear arsenal. Despite Ukraine's initial commitment to become a non-nuclear state, it proceeded along a difficult path toward NPT accession. Most controversial and directly at odds with the NPT was Ukraine's claim to ownership of its nuclear inheritance as a successor state of the Soviet Union. This article argues that, while much domestic discourse about the fate of these nuclear weapons was embedded in the negotiation of Ukraine's new identity as a sovereign state vis-à-vis Russia and the West, the NPT played an important, structural role by outlining a separate normative space for nuclear weapons and providing the grammar of denuclearization with which Ukraine's decision makers had to grapple.     

大口径火炮身管热弯曲计算与试验

建立火炮在阳光照射下身管上下表面温度场、热弯曲及炮口角的计算模型。以某大口径长身管火炮为实例,计算该炮的炮口弯曲量与炮口角,进行自然阳光照射与环境模拟条件下的热弯曲试验,验证计算模型与计算结果的正确性与可信性;提出通过测量身管上下表面温度快速求取火炮身管不同环境温度及温差下的弯曲量与炮口角的工程应用方法。     

Modeling and simulation of muzzle flow field of railgun with metal vapor and arc

During the electromagnetic railgun launching process, there will be a complex flow field with high temperature in the muzzle area because of the high-speed friction, transition and secondary arc-ignition. This paper models the muzzle area of railgun when the projectile is far away from the muzzle, and the dynamic simulation of the flow field with secondary arc in the muzzle area is carried out based on the magneto hydrodynamic equations. Meanwhile, a multi-component plasma transport model is used to analyze the muzzle arc plasma flow process of the mixed gas of Al vapor and the air. Furthermore, the pressure boundary conditions are fitted by the dynamic mesh simulation results. The current and voltage of the muzzle are obtained through the emission experiment of the railgun experimental prototype. We load the current data into the simulation model and the voltage of experiments and simulations are compared, which proves the accuracy of the simulation. Then the plasma temperature and the composition of Al vapor in the muzzle flow process are analyzed in-depth.     

British tumbler mills: Key prototypical 19th-century machine tools used in gunmaking

Abstract

The author has been fortunate enough to examine three 'British' tumbler mills, two from the collections of the Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery and a third mill in a private collection. These mills are all known to have been collected from the gun trade in the West Midlands in the post war period. The mill in the private collection has recently been shown to be dated June 1813. This mill is therefore one of the earliest known special purpose milling machines and is clearly contemporary with the advances proceeding in the US led by John Hall and others to evolve the milling process. This short paper describes the British style of tumbler mill and its context.