The German Invasion of Norway, 1940: The Operational Intelligence Dimension

While many analyses of the 9 April 1940 invasion of Norway have looked at the successful interplay of German air, sea and land components, the part performed by intelligence has largely received only cursory attention. This article seeks to redress this, and investigates the pivotal role intelligence played in the planning, preparation, and carrying out of Weserübung. The study examines the dearth of relevant information in the early planning stage; the subsequent accumulation of military assessments of Norway's defensive capabilities; the process of denying London and Oslo intelligence regarding Berlin's intentions; the significance of Danish and Norwegian airfields to the operation; and the importance of maritime reconnaissance and wireless intercepts in monitoring the disposition of the Royal Navy. Although primarily concerned with German intelligence gathering and utilisation, British efforts, including the potential impact of Ultra, are also considered.     

Nuclear ‐ and missile‐related trade and developments for selected countries,November 1996‐February 1997

The material in this overview is drawn from selected abstracts that appear in the Center for Nonproliferation Studies’ nuclear and missile databases. Transactions of nuclear and missile technologies, parts, and materials are listed according to the recipient country. Other developments are listed according to the country where the event or development took place. The new, streamlined format of this section indicates a decision by the Monitoring Proliferation Threats Project to focus on only key information in the overview and to offer more in‐depth analysis in the “Reports” section of the journal.     

“Flectas non frangas”: revisiting early twenty-first century UK–US defense relations (2000–2005) after five years

Adopting the analytical framework of the established interpretive “schools” of Anglo-American relations, this article offers several reflections on UK–US defense relations as they occurred over the significant years of 2000–2005. During those years, trajectories were established on which UK–US defense relations continue to travel today and outcomes emerged which are still being navigated. This article concludes that the Latin phrase, “Flectas Non Frangas” (essentially translated as: “Bend not Break”), is the most appropriate to adopt to characterize the developments undergone in recent UK–US defense relations. Many historical and strategic lessons with contemporary relevance are drawn.     

Protection of armoured vehicles against chemical,biological and radiological contamination

The article presents problems related to mechanical protection of vehicles with different add-on armours against chemical,biological and radiological contamination.This applies to vehicles with additional passive,reactive and hybrid protection in the form of cassettes against piercing with anti-tank pro-jectiles,piercing with their kinetic energy of impact,and as a result of chemical energy of shaped charges as well as explosively formed projectiles.It has been shown how increased ballistic protection of these vehicles at the same time reduces their decontaminability in various places of the vehicle due to the increased additional surface of the vehicle with cassettes.Prevention of contamination of these cassettes has been presented as a way of reducing hard to reach surface for decontamination and a method of insulating construction elements(stands),fixing these cassettes to the vehicle,from the environment to prevent contact with contaminated liquids and dusts.The selection of appropriate materials is shown,which may affect the improvement of the decontamination efficiency of the vehicle with such cassettes.This applies to the use of materials with low absorption of chemical warfare agents,which prevent the accumulation of large amounts of these agents on contaminated surfaces and improve the effectiveness of decontamination.It also shows how to ensure better access of the disinfectant to as much of the vehicle surface as possible,covered with cassettes that have been contaminated.It shows how a vehicle,in particular with such cassettes,can provide protection against radar detection when Radar Absorbent Material is used on vehicle cassettes.     

From management crisis to crisis management? Japan’s post-2012 institutional reforms and Sino-Japanese crisis (In)stability

Since 2012, China’s assertion of its sovereignty claim to the contested Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands has significantly raised the risk of a potentially escalatory political-military crisis with Japan. As circumstances worsen, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has championed major institutional reforms aimed at centralizing Japanese security policy decision-making and vastly improving crisis management. This article assesses these reforms’ significance for ameliorating Japan’s long-standing internal crisis management weaknesses, and enhancing its ability to communicate with Beijing promptly under challenging conditions. While significant issues remain, recent developments – especially the establishment of Japan’s first-ever National Security Council – demonstrate significant progress. Bilaterally, however, important firebreaks remain conspicuously absent.     

Free riding in a multi‐channel supply chain

Free riding in a multichannel supply chain occurs when one retail channel engages in the customer service activities necessary to sell a product, while another channel benefits from those activities by making the final sale. Although free riding is, in general, considered to have a negative impact on supply chain performance, certain recent industry practices suggest an opposite view: a manufacturer may purposely induce free riding by setting up a high‐cost, customer service‐oriented direct store to allow consumers to experience the product, anticipating their purchase at a retail store. This article examines how the free riding phenomenon affects a manufacturer's supply chain structure decision when there are fixed plus incremental variable costs for operating the direct store. We consider factors such as the effort required to find and buy the product at a retail store after visiting the direct store, the existence of competing products in the market, and the extent of consumer need to obtain direct‐store service. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2009     

Dynamic pricing in a dual‐market environment

This article is concerned with the determination of pricing strategies for a firm that in each period of a finite horizon receives replenishment quantities of a single product which it sells in two markets, for example, a long‐distance market and an on‐site market. The key difference between the two markets is that the long‐distance market provides for a one period delay in demand fulfillment. In contrast, on‐site orders must be filled immediately as the customer is at the physical on‐site location. We model the demands in consecutive periods as independent random variables and their distributions depend on the item's price in accordance with two general stochastic demand functions: additive or multiplicative. The firm uses a single pool of inventory to fulfill demands from both markets. We investigate properties of the structure of the dynamic pricing strategy that maximizes the total expected discounted profit over the finite time horizon, under fixed or controlled replenishment conditions. Further, we provide conditions under which one market may be the preferred outlet to sale over the other. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 62: 531–549, 2015