From the sea to outer space: The command of space as the foundation of spacepower theory

Colin Gray once lamented the absence of a ‘Mahan for the final frontier’ and spacepower theory in strategic studies. This article proposes the command of space as the fundamental concept of spacepower theory, and that Mahan himself has much to offer in the endeavour of spacepower theory-making than has hitherto been realised. The theory is advanced by tempering versions of the ‘command of space’, stressing its educational intent, and explaining the nuanced sub-concepts of space control and denial through understanding some precedents set by seapower theory. In the process, aspects of Mahanian and Corbettian seapower theory are unified.     

基于效果的网络中心战模型研究

基于效果的网络中心战是利用物理域内分布式传感器网络、指挥控制网络和武器平台网络.通过网络内部以及网络之间信息域中高质量的信息共享,实现军事人员认知域态势感知共享和部队自同步,是信息时代的一种新兴的作战样式,体现了"兵力分散,效果集中"的信息化战争的作战思想.通过分析基于效果的网络中心战,建立了基于效果的网络中心战体系结构模型和未来军事行动中实施该理论的任务进程模型,对我军未来信息化作战条件下联合作战的实施具有一定的指导意义.     

‘Innovate or die’: Organizational culture and the origins of maneuver warfare in the United States Marine Corps

The purpose of this article is twofold. First, this article contributes to the understanding of the origins of maneuver warfare as the capstone doctrine of the Marine Corps. It does so by identifying a second source that fostered change in the Marine Corps – one in addition to disquiet about the conduct of the war in Vietnam – which stemmed from the challenges posed by the United States' post-Vietnam strategic and military reorientation. And second, this article examines the influence of organizational culture, or identity, on innovation in the Marine Corps. A critical strand in the growing literature on military innovation focuses on organizational culture and how it influences the behavior and responses of particular military organizations. This article contributes to this literature by analyzing the influence of the organizational culture of the Marine Corps in shaping what was deemed an appropriate response to the challenges it confronted in the 1970s.     

Escalation and de-escalation of violence in insurgencies: Insights from Northeast India

Insurgencies in the Northeast of India have been a recurring phenomenon since India's independence in 1947. One of the most significant aspects of the multiple insurgencies has been the use of violence for political goals. By drawing upon three cases of insurgencies in Northeast India, the article offers a conceptual framework on escalation and de-escalation of violence in insurgencies. The article argues that the most critical variables which have a direct bearing on the levels of insurgent violence are: popular support, loss of legitimacy and the state's counter-response.     

A lost work of El Lobo: Lieutenant-Colonel Charles T.R. Bohannan's unpublished study of guerrilla warfare and counterinsurgency in the Philippines, 1899–1955

Charles Ted Rutledge Bohannan (1914–1982) became an integral agent of US counterinsurgency operations during the early Cold War, contributing to both the success of the COIN effort to defeat the communist Huk insurgents in the Philippines and the stalled COIN efforts in Vietnam. In the early 1960s, he wrote a short and compact analysis of the US and Filipino experience of guerrilla warfare, from the Philippine–American war until the defeat of the Huk Rebellion. It was never published. Reprinted here, Bohannan's analysis of lessons learned makes a substantial contribution to the history of American ideas of unconventional warfare by an expert who contributed these lessons to the successful defeat of an insurgency in South East Asia.     

Performance of Greek–Roman Artillery

Abstract

The main throwing machines invented and used by the Greeks and adopted, more widely, by Roman armies are examined. The kinematics and dynamics of both light and heavy Greek–Roman artillery are used in order to accurately assess its performance. Thus, a better understanding is obtained of the tactics and strategies of the legions of the Roman Empire as well as the reasons for some brilliant campaigns. Reconstructions of a repeating catapult, considered to be the ancestor of the modern machine gun, are also presented. The development of the mechanical design of such machines is discussed and pictorial reconstructions proposed.     

水面舰艇编队反潜作战仿真模型组件化研究

针对目前编队反潜作战仿真领域中模型利用效率和可重用性较低的现状,提出并建立了基于组件技术的编队反潜仿真模型体系结构,依据编队反潜作战实际物理过程对编队反潜作战仿真模型体系进行了组件化层次结构划分和作战仿真模型组件设计,按照J2EE/EJB体系结构,完成了系统配置和不同类型组件及组件间信息交互接口设计,并对仿真系统进行了实现.结果证明该方法能有效提高模型可重用性并提高系统仿真运行效率.     

“协同制导通道”基本概念及其应用分析

舰艇编队协同反导作战,是海上网络中心作战的典型样式.针对舰艇编队网络化协同反导作战装备体系特殊性,提出了“协同制导通道”基本概念和数学表示方法,并对基于协同制导通道分配方法运用于网络化反导作战条件下武器资源分配进行了研究.分析了单舰反导作战“武器目标分配”的局限性,网络化反导作战“弹-目匹配”新需求和“协同制导通道”的选择方法,为确定“协同制导通道”选择的最优化指标,提出选择“协同制导通道”优化算法奠定了基础.     

网络中心战条件下舰艇编队武器系统可靠度分析

利用可靠度模型对网络化条件下舰艇编队跨平台组织武器通道的可靠度进行了分析。分析表明,在网络中心战条件下舰艇编队武器系统的可靠度有了大幅度的提升。     

MGIS技术在海军信息战中的应用*

针对军事地理信息系统(Military Geographic Information System,MGIS)在世界海军信息化作战中的重要作用及其研究现状,给出了MGIS的概念、信息流程和系统主要组成,详细阐述了MGIS在海军作战中的主要功能及其实现技术,系统论述了MGIS在海军信息化作战中的应用。最后总结了MGIS技术研究的重要意义。