Weapon acquisition with target uncertainty

This article is concerned with choosing a mix of weapons, subject to constraints, when the targets to be attacked are known imprecisely. It is shown that the correct method for optimizing the mix of weapons involves a pair of nested optimization problems (two-stage optimization). Two methods for optimizing the expected utility of a mix are discussed. The first involves a simultaneous attack model, in which it is implicitly assumed that all weapons are used at once. The second involves a sequential attack model, in which targets appear in random order and are attacked one at a time. Particular attention is given to the question of the appropriate mix of general-purpose and special-purpose weapons.     

READY,SET, TRACE

Tracing small arms and light weapons has been identified as an important component in reducing the illicit trafficking of weapons to regions of conflict as well as use in violent crime. At the national, regional and international levels policy makers and practitioners are working to make tracing more effective. This article outlines some of the key elements of an effective tracing regime and reviews where areas of agreement currently exist. It concludes with observations on some of the challenges facing countries as they try to implement these systems and respond to the problem of illicit arms trafficking.     

基于效用分析的武器装备发展方案决策

武器装备发展方案效用决策分析的目的就是以一定的方法和途径,根据决策者对武器装备发展所涉及的各项决策准则的偏好及其对各决策备选方案可能出现风险程度的态度,诱导出决策者对于各项准则的效用函数,从而以诱导的形式综合出各决策备选方案的综合效用,以获得决策者认为是最满意的决策方案.     

A strategic model for state compliance verification

The theory of directed graphs and noncooperative games is applied to the problem of verification of State compliance to international treaties on arms control, disarmament and nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Hypothetical treaty violations are formulated in terms of illegal acquisition paths for the accumulation of clandestine weapons, weapons‐grade materials or some other military capability. The paths constitute the illegal strategies of a sovereign State in a two‐person inspection game played against a multi‐ or international Inspectorate charged with compliance verification. The effectiveness of existing or postulated verification measures is quantified in terms of the Inspectorate's expected utility at Nash equilibrium. A prototype software implementation of the methodology and a case study are presented. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 63: 260–271, 2016     

A branch‐and‐bound‐based solution approach for dynamic rerouting of airborne platforms

This article is a sequel to a recent article that appeared in this journal, “An extensible modeling framework for dynamic reassignment and rerouting in cooperative airborne operations” [ 17 ], in which an integer programming formulation to the problem of rescheduling in‐flight assets due to changes in battlespace conditions was presented. The purpose of this article is to present an improved branch‐and‐bound procedure to solve the dynamic resource management problem in a timely fashion, as in‐flight assets must be quickly re‐tasked to respond to the changing environment. To facilitate the rapid generation of attractive updated mission plans, this procedure uses a technique for reducing the solution space, supports branching on multiple decision variables simultaneously, incorporates additional valid cuts to strengthen the minimal network constraints of the original mathematical model, and includes improved objective function bounds. An extensive numerical analysis indicates that the proposed approach significantly outperforms traditional branch‐and‐bound methodologies and is capable of providing improved feasible solutions in a limited time. Although inspired by the dynamic resource management problem in particular, this approach promises to be an effective tool for solving other general types of vehicle routing problems. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2013     

THE ROLLBACK OF LIBYA'S CHEMICAL WEAPONS PROGRAM

In 2003, Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi agreed to eliminate his country's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs and long-range Scud missiles under strict verification by U.S. and British experts and international inspectors. This article examines the negotiation and implementation of Libya's WMD rollback, with a primary focus on its chemical weapons program, and draws some lessons for the future. Although the Libyan case was unique in many ways, some aspects have relevance for other countries, including the critical role played by multilateral nonproliferation organizations, the utility of economic sanctions and export controls, the importance of a flexible U.S. disarmament funding mechanism, the value of rotating technical assistance teams in and out of the country that is disarming, and the desirability of remaining politically engaged with a former proliferator after rollback is complete.     

A Proxemic Account of Bayonet Fighting

The bayonet has long been regarded as an obsolete piece of military technology. This article advances a proxemic account of close combat, which points to its continuing utility under modern battlefield conditions. It is argued that bayonet training remains an effective way of preparing soldiers to psychologically dominate contested spaces on the battlefield. Thus, although other weapons and techniques can fulfil the same role, it can nevertheless be argued that the bayonet’s enduring presence is not simply the result of some atavistic military mind-set.     

基于排队论的防空兵力部署优化模型

兵力部署优化问题是防空指控系统的重要研究内容之一。针对多型防空武器多层多区段混合部署问题,对异型空袭武器和防空武器基于作战效能标准化处理,基于排队论给出空袭武器的突防概率计算模型,将防空武器系统综合防御效能作为优化目标,建立多型防空武器扇形部署优化模型。仿真实验验证了优化模型的有效性和合理性,可为科学制定兵力部署方案提供参考。     

自由后坐式自动武器运动系统优化设计研究

本文介绍自由抢机式自动武器运动系统有关结构参量的一种优化设计方法。优化的目标函数为自动机后坐到位速度和弹丸的初速。优化的结构参数有自动机的质量,弹簧的抗力等。     

INTERNATIONAL REGIME OF FRESH FUEL SUPPLY AND SPENT FUEL DISPOSAL

Recent events in Iran and elsewhere demand a reevaluation of the need for increasing nuclear fuel supplies and assuring reliable flow of fuel to nuclear power user states vis-à-vis the need for strengthened security for all countries against the use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The right of countries to a guaranteed supply of nuclear energy for peaceful uses must be balanced with the global community's desire to limit flows of nuclear material and sensitive nuclear facilities that could create opportunities for nuclear proliferation. This article proposes elements of an international regime of fresh fuel supply and spent fuel disposal that will guarantee fresh fuel supplies to countries honoring their obligations under the Treaty for the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), while reducing concerns about diversion of spent fuel for weapons purposes. A specific application to countries with small pre-commercial uranium enrichment plants is also proposed.     

NUCLEAR WEAPONS AS THE CURRENCY OF POWER

There are important similarities between the pattern of behavior Karl Marx identified with respect to commodities—a pattern he called “fetishism”—and the pattern of behavior identified in this article with respect to military force. Marx identified money as the mature expression of commodity fetishism; the author identifies nuclear weapons as the mature expression of the fetishism of force. As such, nuclear weapons function as the currency of power in the international system. This article lays out a theory of nuclear fetishism by adapting four themes that are characteristic of the pattern of behavior known as fetishism: materiality, historicality, efficacy, and reification. By applying these categories to the fetishism of nuclear weapons, the author shows that nuclear weapons represent a new social form consistent with, yet distinct from, other fetish objects.     

The only choice is both choices: balancing assurance and coercion in nonproliferation-focused alliance-management strategies

ABSTRACT

Conventional theories of alliance management often overemphasize the utility of either assurance or coercion in preventing allied nuclear proliferation. Historical analysis reveals that prioritizing either of these two tactics to the exclusion of the other is inadvisable. A strategy that focuses solely on security guarantees or coercive threats is likely to encourage an allied state to pursue a hedging strategy, in which the client state continues to clandestinely develop its own nuclear capabilities while remaining underneath its patron’s defensive “umbrella.” This article introduces a new framework for understanding the effectiveness of nonproliferation-focused alliance-management strategies. By exploring the cases of West Germany and South Korea, the article concludes that the best way to prevent allies from pursuing nuclear weapons is to combine assurance with coercion. This establishes an incentive–punishment relationship that limits an ally’s motivation to develop nuclear weapons. These conclusions have particular salience today, as conversations over nuclear-weapons development have become increasingly normalized in Germany and particularly in South Korea. The United States’s capacity to influence its allies’ nuclear behavior is currently being eroded through the degradation of both patron credibility and client dependence, weakening the long-term viability of the global nonproliferation regime.     

On finding spanning eulerian subgraphs

In this article, we examine the problem of producing a spanning Eulerian subgraph in an undirected graph. After the ?-completeness of the general problem is established, we present polynomial-time algorithms for both the maximization and minimization versions where instances are defined on a restricted class of graphs referred to as series-parallel. Some novelties in the minimization case are discussed, as are heuristic ideas.     

Acceleration of the HAP approach for the multifacility location problem

This article considers the problem of locating multiple new facilities to minimize the cost function consisting of the sum of weighted distances among new facilities and between new and existing facilities. The hyperboloid approximate procedure (HAP) is probably the most widely used approach for solving this problem. In this article, an optimality condition for this problem is derived and a method to accelerate the convergence rate of the HAP for the case of Euclidean distances is presented. From the numerical results presented in this article, it can be concluded that the performance of the new algorithm is superior to the performance of the original HAP.     

Nuclear Weapons and the Vietnam War

This article analyzes why US leaders did not use nuclear weapons during the Vietnam War. To date, there has been no systematic study of US decision-making on nuclear weapons during this war. This article offers an initial analysis, focusing on the Johnson and Nixon administrations. Although US leaders did not come close to using nuclear weapons in the conflict, nuclear options received more attention than has previously been appreciated. Johnson's advisers raised the issue of nuclear weapons and threats on several occasions, and Henry Kissinger, Nixon's national security adviser, looked into nuclear options to bring the war to an end. Ultimately, however, both administrations privately rejected such options. The conventional explanation for the non-use of nuclear weapons during the Cold War – deterrence – is insufficient to explain the Vietnam case. This article analyzes the role of military, political and normative considerations in restraining US use of nuclear weapons in the Vietnam War. It argues that while military and political considerations, including escalation concerns, are part of the explanation, a taboo against the use of nuclear weapons played a critical role.     

STRATEGY FOR A NEW NUCLEAR AGE

Current U.S. nuclear weapons strategy, force structure, and doctrine contribute to the threat of nuclear terrorism in several ways. First, the U.S. nuclear stockpile presents opportunities for nuclear terrorists to seize the materials they need. Second, U.S. nuclear forces remain a key justification for Russia's maintenance of similar nuclear forces that are less well protected. Third, America's continued embrace of nuclear weapons encourages and legitimizes other states to seek nuclear weapons that they will have difficulty securing from terrorists. The national security interests of the United States would be better served by a strategy to shrink the global footprint of nuclear weapons and provide the highest possible levels of security for the most minimal possible deterrent forces. Given the inability to secure nuclear weapons and materials perfectly or to eliminate terrorism in the foreseeable future, reducing the global inventory of nuclear weapons and materials is the most reliable way to reduce the chances of nuclear terrorism.     

一种通用型舰载防空硬武器火力优化算法?

针对当前武器优化分配算法缺少通用性，难以兼顾效率和时间的问题，提出了一种通用型舰载防空硬武器火力优化算法。该算法首先提取各舰载武器能够攻击的目标集合，然后对各武器的目标集合逐一进行时间分配，并计算对目标的毁伤概率，最终完成所有武器的分配。计算表明，该算法具有很好的通用性和实时性，可适用于较大规模舰载防空硬武器的火力优化分配问题。     

Optimization in mixed-integer space with a single linear bound

The search for an optimal point in a mixed-integer space with a single linear bound may be significantly reduced by a procedure resembling the Lagrangian technique. This procedure uses the coefficients of the linear bound to generate a set of necessary conditions that may eliminate most of the space from further consideration. Enumerative or other techniques can then locate the optimum with greater efficiency. Several methods are presented for applying this theory to separable and quadratic objectives. In the maximization of a separable concave function, the resulting average range of the variables is approximately equal to the maximum (integer) coefficient of the constraint equation.     

Varieties of Assurance

Strategies that seek to assure other states about their security have the potential to reduce international conflict and dissuade states from seeking nuclear weapons. Yet, relative to other tools of statecraft such as deterrence, assurance remains understudied. To facilitate further empirical research on assurance strategies, this article identifies variations in the terminology scholars and policymakers have used to refer to such strategies and describes the concept of assurance associated with each variant. It seeks to clarify and standardize usage and show that there is a general, overarching concept of assurance that links the different variants. It also summarizes existing bodies of empirical research that are relevant to assessing the utility of different forms of assurance.     

攻防对抗下防空导弹武器系统作战效能评估

防空导弹武器系统是反空袭作战和国土防空的重要装备,综述了评定武器系统效能的WSEIAC模型,分析了WSEIAC模型的特点,结合攻防对抗下防空导弹武器作战体系作战的过程和对抗的特点,构建了攻防对抗下的防空导弹武器作战体系效能分析指标体系,建立了一种改进的ADC模型,并对模型中每个因素的确定进行了介绍,可为决策部门提供一定的决策预报.