Ideology,ballots, and alliances: Canadian participation in multinational military operations

The decision to employ force abroad is often a contentious political decision, where partisanship plays a crucial role. Prior to military intervention, political parties usually make their ideologically distinctive preferences clear and seek to implement them once in power. What remains unclear, however, is how ideology affects the decision to use military force. This article contends that alliance and electoral calculations constrain the ability of political parties to implement their ideological preferences with regards to the use of force. It examines a “most likely” case for the partisan theory of military intervention, namely Canada’s refusal to take part in the invasion of Iraq and its decision to commit forces to the war against the Islamic State. It finds that only in combination with alliance and electoral calculations does executive ideology offer valuable insights into Canada’s military support to U.S.-led coalition operations, which contributes to our understanding of allied decision-making.     

美军推进人工智能军事应用的举措、挑战及启示

人工智能技术的发展加速了军事智能化的脚步。本文分析了美军在推进人工智能军事应用方面采取的一系列举措，如注重国家战略层面的顶层设计，出台一系列智能化发展战略规划；部署各类军事智能化研究项目，开展大数据、智能算法研究，促进人工智能技术向情报处理、无人作战平台、指挥控制、武器装备系统、作战方式变革的渗透转化；重视智能化技术的基础理论研究和人才培养，聚焦核心和关键技术的突破，夯实军事智能化发展的基础。阐述了美军在推进人工智能军事应用进程中面临的来自技术、信任、伦理等多方面的挑战，并从成熟算法民转军用、寻求认知智能算法突破、培养军事智能化复合型人才等角度提出几点启示。     

Quantitative monitoring of military transformation in the period 1992–2010: Do the protagonists of transformation really change more than other countries?

Military transformation is a complex, slow, asymmetric, changeable, political, and not necessarily completely rational process that clearly needs an effective monitoring mechanism. This paper fills a gap in current literature by creating and testing a model for multi-dimensional and multi-level quantitative monitoring of military transformation applicable in any country. The model is based on 10 transformation indicators that reflect changes in organizational structure, personnel structure, weapon systems, and defense spending. Its application on a sample of seven countries (USA, United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, and China) in the period from 1992 to 2010 unexpectedly shows that the USA – a protagonist in the transformation process among allies as well as globally – has carried out the smallest relative change. The non-directed transformation index indicates that Russia carried out 51.8% more change (or 34.1 index units), and the directed index indicates that Poland carried out 157.2% (or 40.8 index units) more change than the USA.     

基于战备完好率的军用飞机维修费用需求确定方法

军用飞机维修费用需求与战备完好率要求密切相关,为保持飞机一定的战备完好率水平,必须投入一定的维修费用。维修费用投入多,则维修设备齐全,维修人员维修能力高,维修备件充足,飞机故障修复时间短,战备完好率高;维修费用投入少,会造成维修设备短缺,设施破旧,维修人员培训不到位,维修备件供应不足等各种问题,直接影响战备完好率水平。     

刑法修正案（七）中军用标志犯罪立法完善研究

《刑法修正案（七）》对原刑法规定的侵犯军用标志的犯罪进行了修正,但其规定还存在一些立法疏漏和缺陷,有必要予以改进。《刑法修正案（七）》中的罪名应立法化,由立法机关确定;增设非法生产、伪造、变造、盗窃、抢劫、抢夺、破坏、侮辱武装部队专用标志的行为和伪造、变造、盗窃、非法提供、使用、非法出租、出借、赠送武装部队制式服装的行为;犯罪对象应包括制式服装的标志服饰、军服专用材料和军服仿制品;刑罚种类应增加剥夺政治权利;增加非法生产、买卖武装部队制式服装罪的情节加重犯的法定刑。     

武器装备试验计量保障有关问题的思考

计量保障是武器装备试验数据准确和试验质量可靠的重要保证,是考核与评价装备战术技术指标的关键环节,在武器装备的发展建设中发挥着不可替代的基础作用。本文结合目前武器装备试验计量保障工作的现状,从计量管理的法制化、试验计量保障能力建设、试验装备的强制检定和装备计量保障信息数据库等若干方面深入阐述了试验需求和法律法规要求,探讨了做好试验计量保障工作应采取的改进措施。     

军事仿真训练系统体系架构改进研究

现有军事仿真训练系统多基于传统C／S架构进行体系设计，在大规模战术训练仿真部署时，存在并发访问能力弱、可靠性差等问题。通过对仿真系统的体系架构进行研究，结合云计算技术提出增加访问控制服务器、仿真数据共享服务器以及仿真引擎虚拟化等改进方式，并通过对比分析，总结了三种方式对仿真训练系统的可扩展性、并发访问性以及数据可靠性等方面能力优化和提升的异同，并提出仿真训练系统传统体系向云计算体系逐步过渡的思路。     

谈部队出租房的消防安全问题与治理对策

分析了目前部队出租房消防管理存在的问题,提出了要把部队出租房纳入审批范畴,加强源头控制;明确工作职责,建立协作监管机制;提高思想认识,重视消防安全管理;落实各级责任,部门齐抓共管;健全监管机制,加强督促检查;加强宣传教育,把握舆论导向;坚持依法管理,提升服务水平。     

军事信息系统作战活动描述方法研究

针对军事信息系统需求分析需要，探讨了作战活动过程描述、作战节点连接描述、节点状态转换描述和作战活动时序描述的内容和方法。基于该理论和方法，可以准确描述信息化条件下军事人员对军事信息系统的应用需求，实现军事人员与技术人员的有效沟通，为军事信息系统军事需求分析与应用设计的基础。     

Effective in battle: conceptualizing soldiers’ combat effectiveness*

How do we understand combat effectiveness – soldiers’ performance in battle? Despite the broad consensus that understanding combat effectiveness is important both for scholars and policymakers, there is widespread disagreement about what combat effectiveness is. More specifically, studies of effectiveness tend to focus on either the skill of soldiers in battle, or their will to fight. Yet both skill and will are essential components of an effective fighting force. This article argues that understanding combat effectiveness requires understanding both of these key components of effectiveness. In other words, combat effectiveness requires both the skill and will to engage the enemy in an organized manner. It then demonstrates the usefulness of this conceptualization by applying it to the cases of British, Indian, and Australian forces fighting the Japanese during the Second World War. Only when scholars are talking about the same concept will our understanding of the conditions under which militaries are effective in battle progress. By comparing different units fighting the same opponent under the same material conditions, I demonstrate that units vary both in their combat skill and their will to fight, and that understanding their effectiveness in battle requires analyzing both of these key factors.