The use of undercover military units in counter-terrorist operations: a historical analysis with reference to contemporary anti-terrorism

This article examines the use of specialised plain-clothes military units in counter-terrorism, concentrating on examples involving liberal-democratic states. It analyses the benefits and problems arising from clandestine military activity, focusing in particular on British army units (notably 14 Intelligence Company and the Force Research Unit in Northern Ireland). The article concludes by arguing that such formations have a clear utility – notably in gathering intelligence on terrorist groups – but other aspects of their role are inherently controversial (notably in cases where undercover soldiers use deadly force against suspected terrorists). It also states that plain-clothes military operations need to be conducted on the basis of accountability, both for strategic reasons, and also in accordance with the norms of liberal democracy.     

Controlled warfare: how directed-energy weapons will enable the US Military to fight effectively in an urban environment while minimizing collateral damage

US military operations are increasingly conducted within urban environments and with these operations come the risk of increasing the number of civilian casualties and infrastructure damage. The use of non-lethal weaponry, such as directed-energy weapons, is one method for minimizing collateral damage. This method enables US military forces to effectively fight within urban environments through force escalation capabilities. Using a series of historical examples and future scenarios for urban warfare, this article highlights deficiencies affecting military capabilities in military urban operations, addresses the consequences of collateral damage, assesses the effectiveness of directed-energy weapons in military urban operations and encourages further funding, research and integration of non-lethal weaponry, such as directed-energy weapons, within the US military.     

The missing dimension: IDF special operations forces and strategy in the Second Lebanon War

In the course of the 2006 Lebanon War the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) employed special operations forces (SOF) for raids against Hizb'allah's command and control structure. This article argues that a faulty conceptualization of the value of special operations and misguided expectations determined by the new IDF concept of operations impacted adversely on the employment of SOF for this kind of operations. Both these elements contributed in turn to substantially degrade SOF performance in the context of the war.     

Revisiting money-laundering legislation in Zimbabwe and the role of international organisations

ABSTRACT

International Organisations (IOs) are crucial actors in spearheading the global adoption of anti-money-laundering (AML) legislation. However, the extent to which AML legislation has been implemented in Zimbabwe under the aegis of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and East Africa and Southern Africa Money Laundering Group (ESSAMALG) may put the efficacy of legislation passed at the behest of IOs into question. This article suggests that glocalisation may enhance the international fight against money-laundering. That is to say, international standards should be applied domestically with due regard for local legislative environment.     

半仿真方位高分辨后置处理方法

MVDR自适应波束形成可获得良好的目标方位估计性能,但其方位分辨力仍受限于阵列孔径.为进一步提高目标方位分辨性能,在MVDR自适应波束输出的基础上,提出了一种高分辨后置处理方法.在两目标方位不可分时,仿真构造两个目标的阵列输出空间方位谱,通过搜索两目标的方位和幅值,与真实数据的空间方位谱输出作匹配处理,从而获得目标的方位估计.实验室仿真及海试数据处理验证了该方法的有效性.     

一种基于超短基线的高精度多目标水声定位技术研究

超短基线定位系统由于基阵尺寸小、安装方便,在海洋开发中得到了广泛的应用。信号设计是多目标水声定位系统的关键。与常规的跳频序列相比,COSTAS阵列具有良好的相关特性。文中对COSTAS跳频信号进行了分析,仿真结果表明,由它构建的跳频信号有着较好的多目标信号抑制能力,并且可以找到合乎系统要求的多目标信号编码组。试验结果也证明了采用这种基于COSTAS阵列的跳频工作方式较为适合水下多目标声学定位。     

低RCS EBG波导缝隙阵列天线

将Mushroom电磁带隙结构(Electromagnetic Band Gap,EBG)的表面波带隙和同相反射特性同时用于波导缝隙阵列天线的设计,利用EBG的带隙特性抑制天线阵中的表面波,以改善天线的辐射性能;利用EBG的同相反射特性实现天线雷达散射截面(Radar Cross Section,RCS)的减缩,天线综合性能得到较大提升。制作了EBG波导缝隙天线阵样品,并对天线阵的阵元互耦、辐射方向图及天线阵RCS等指标进行了测试,结果与理论预期相吻合,有效地降低了阵元间互耦及天线阵RCS。     

应用改进的线性预测算法构建虚拟阵的精确定向方法

为了克服传统线性预测(Linear Prediction,LP)算法在构建虚拟阵过程中存在预测误差容易累积的弊端,提出了一种能够更充分利用实阵信息量的改进LP算法来构建虚拟阵。采用实际基阵方法、传统LP虚拟阵方法和改进LP虚拟阵方法分别对假定基阵的波束性能进行计算机仿真及对湖试数据进行处理成像,研究结果表明,与传统LP方法相比,改进的LP方法能够有效地抑制波束旁瓣,进一步提高了基阵的角度分辨力和阵增益,将其运用于特定试验背景下的实际湖底目标声探测,方向分辨精度可提高75%。     

基于凸-改进遗传算法的圆阵列方向图联合优化

针对圆形阵列方向图具有较高旁瓣的问题,提出一种新的基于凸优化和改进遗传算法的优化方法。该方法首先采用遗传算法将阵元位置和阵元权值作为优化变量,以最小化波束方向图峰值旁瓣为目标函数进行联合优化,既增加了变量的自由度,又符合理论意义上的全局寻优;同时,为了避免算法的早熟收敛,对基本遗传算法进行了必要的改进。然后采用凸优化方法对阵元权值进行二次优化可进一步降低旁瓣电平,与传统方法相比能够明显提高优化效果的稳定性。仿真数据证实了该方法的有效性和正确性。     

块Toeplitz矩阵低复杂度求逆的卫星导航空时抗干扰算法

采样协方差矩阵求逆是空时抗干扰算法的基本运算单元,但由于其运算量随时域抽头个数急剧增长,直接限制了空时抗干扰技术在卫星导航接收机中的应用。针对该问题,提出了基于块Toeplitz矩阵快速求逆的空时抗干扰方法。通过采用新的协方差矩阵近似计算方法,使得该矩阵同时为块Toeplitz矩阵与Hermite矩阵,并运用块Toeplitz矩阵的快速求逆算法,将时域抽头个数为K的计算复杂度从O[K3]降至O[K2]。理论分析和仿真结果表明,在阵元数为4、时域抽头为15的典型情况下,相比现有矩阵求逆方法,该算法的抗干扰性能损耗小于1d B,但计算量可降低约2/3。