The political economy of drones

This paper provides a political economy analysis of the evolution of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), or ‘drones’ in the USA. Focus is placed on the interplay between the polity and private economic influences, and their impact on the trajectory of political, economic, and military outcomes. We identify the initial formation of the drone industry, trace how the initial relationships between the military and the private sector expanded over time, and discuss present relationships. Understanding the historical evolution of UAV technology, as well as the major players in the industry today, is important for ongoing policy debates regarding the use of drones both domestically and internationally.     

基于灰色关联投影法的空中加油机驻场选址评价

提出了一种基于灰色关联投影法的空中加油机驻场选址评价方法,分析了空中加油机驻场选址影响因素,设计了评价指标体系,并运用熵值理论客观赋权,构建了加权灰色关联决策矩阵。通过比较备选方案与理想方案灰色关联投影角,根据灰色关联投影值对备选方案进行优劣排序。算例分析结果符合现实场站选择条件,说明该方法能够有效解决空中加油机驻场选址问题。     

The view from above: how the Royal Air Force provided a strategic vision for operational intelligence during the Malayan Emergency

It has long been held that the Federation of Malaya’s counter-insurgency campaign during the First Malayan Emergency (1948–60) was determined by the use of intelligence. Special Branch — the Federation’s primary intelligence agency — dominates the prevailing paradigm of how the insurgent threat was tackled. Conversely, the role of the Royal Air Force (RAF) within this paradigm is very limited. Most observers simply dismiss the role of photoreconnaissance or airstrikes as being largely inconsequential to the counter-insurgency effort. This is perhaps understandable: the Emergency was after all a ‘policing action’ and the insurgents were largely hidden under Malaya’s jungle canopy and amongst the Chinese community. However, further scrutiny reveals that the RAF made a much more significant contribution to the intelligence element of the counter-insurgency campaign than previously realised. First, the RAF decided to locate their Advanced Headquarters with the Army’s General Headquarters. This led to the creation of the Land/Air Operations Room, through which intelligence, tasking and resources were coordinated. Moreover, the RAF put its intelligence teams into the field to provide a practical link between local units and theatre-level assets. Second, with the support of the Army, the RAF established at the beginning of the Emergency the Joint Air Photographic Intelligence Board (Far East). This coordinated all photographic intelligence requirements throughout the Emergency, which was then delivered via the Joint Air Photographic Centre (Far East). Hence, via Joint Operations Centre and JAPIB (FE), the RAF provided both the practical means for effective joint intelligence operations at theatre level throughout the Emergency.     

基于因子分解和光束法平差从航空序列图像恢复三维结构

从航空序列图像恢复目标三维结构是航空摄影测量的基本问题。针对现有算法中精度与计算量的矛盾,提出一种基于因子分解与光束法平差的新算法。作为因子分解与光束法平差的桥梁,提出基于"R T"模式共线方程的概念,详细推导了其线性化公式。仿真实验和真实图像实验表明,新算法精度高、稳定性好,可应用于航空测绘、虚拟现实、军事侦察等工程实践。     

一种可实现TF/TA2的无人飞行器三维航迹规划方法

从规划空间的有效表达着手对无人飞行器三维航迹规划展开研究,基于地形和威胁提出的飞行器航迹规划方法将航迹规划分为学习阶段和查询阶段,环境信息和飞行器的大部分约束条件结合在路线图的构造过程中,航迹搜索在此路线图中进行并最终实现全部约束条件.试验结果显示,该方法可以实时获得实现TF/TA2的三维航迹.     

空中反恐中保卫目标重要度指标体系研究

空中恐怖袭击具有突然性和随意性的特点,其目的是通过制造恐怖事件引起巨大影响,带来社会恐慌。通过分析空中恐怖袭击对袭击目标选择的特点,剖析其规律性,从而建立空中反恐保卫目标重要度指标体系和保卫目标重要度评价模型,对保卫目标进行科学有效地划定与排序,便于在空中反恐作战中对保卫目标及早进行确定、实施空中警戒范围划定和战斗部署。     

针对不同视场辅助信标的无人机目标定位方法

针对无人机在单站测角测距的目标定位过程中受无人机姿态角误差影响较大的问题,提出一种对辅助信标进行探测并与惯性传感器相结合的无人机姿态求解方法。建立基于容积卡尔曼滤波的惯性传感器姿态求解模型,采用梯度下降法对基于辅助信标的无人机位姿参数进行求解,并综合它们的结果对无人机的姿态偏差进行估计和校正,最后完成了不同视场条件下的目标定位和仿真计算。结果表明,所提方法对无人机目标定位精度有明显提高。     

固定翼无人机曲线路径跟踪的积分向量场方法

常规的向量场方法在处理无人机曲线路径跟踪问题时很容易受非定常风扰的影响而使得跟踪误差增加,因此很多方法采用用无人机的惯性坐标系(地速和方位角)替代机体坐标系(空速和偏航角)的方式来提高抗风性能。但是,这种方式只能处理大小和方向均恒定的风扰,这在实际飞行中是过于理想的假设。为了克服这些不足,提出了一种采用侧偏距的积分来主动抵消非定常风扰的积分向量场方法用于固定翼无人机曲线路径跟踪控制。根据期望路径的曲率及路径角,结合无人机自身的状态信息设计了曲线路径跟踪策略,并且使用李雅普诺夫理论证明了提出的方法能够确保闭环系统的全局渐进稳定。最后,使用高性能半实物仿真系统验证了提出方法的抗风跟踪性能。     

The rise of targeted killing

Targeted killings have become a central tactic in the United States' campaigns against militant and terrorist groups in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. Both ‘demand’ and ‘supply’ factors explain the rise of targeted killings. Demand for targeted killings increased as the United States faced new threats from militant groups that could not be effectively countered with conventional military force. Concerns about the political consequences of long-term military involvement overseas and American casualties led political leaders to supply more targeted killings. The conclusion discusses how this tactic may have unintended consequences as other states follow the United States use of targeted killings.     

多UCAV协同控制中的任务分配模型及算法

任务分配是多UCAV协同控制的核心和有效保证。分析了影响目标价值毁伤、UCAV损耗、任务消耗时间等三项关键战技指标的因素,综合考虑实战中多UCAV同时攻击同一目标和使用软杀伤武器这两种典型情况对UCAV执行任务的影响,建立了针对攻击任务的多UCAV协同任务分配模型,并应用粒子群算法求解。仿真结果验证了模型的合理性和算法的有效性。