Bringing Military Conduct out of the Shadow of Law: Towards a Holistic Understanding of Rules of Engagement

In this article, I outline a holistic approach to the military concept of “Rules of Engagement” (ROE), which complements the legal aspects of ROE with considerations of operational and political requirements for the use of military force. Drawing upon two illustrative cases from the US military experience with the use of ROE, I demonstrate that ROE for any particular military operation should be formulated to balance optimally, if not harmonize fully, the legal, operational and political concerns related to the use of force. In this task, political decision-makers and military practitioners alike are confronted with unavoidable and real-life dilemmas. How these dilemmas are handled has significant implications for how legal requirements concerning accountability and concerns for civilian lives in military combat can be preserved through ROE.     

The fateful phoenix: the revival of Al-Qa’ida in Iraq

Although the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) is seen as a novel manifestation of Islamic extremism, it is in fact the latest, albeit perhaps the most effective, of a long line of revivalist movements in the Islamic and the Arab worlds. Its motivations – hisba and jihad – differ little from its predecessors and its ambitions – to create a state organised in accordance with the precepts of the Islamic caliphate – reflect a long-standing Islamic ambition. It differs, of course, in terms of the sophistication of its political and military strategies, which mirror the contemporary complexities of the world in which it operates, but its objectives recall long-standing Islamic ideals, even if articulated in radically brutal and extremist ways. More importantly, perhaps, ISIS or Da’ish, to give it its Arabic sobriquet, reflects the enormous degree of resentment inside the Middle East at the ways in which Western powers have intervened in regional affairs over recent years, particularly their support for regimes and economic systems there that have betrayed, in the popular imaginary, the essential principles of social justice that lie at the root of Islamic vision of ideal social order. Indeed, in many respects, its analysis of the world in which it operates and of the objectives it seeks differ little in essence from those any other resistance and rejectionist movement, whether religious or sectarian. More specifically, it has been the sectarian conflict that resulted from the reversal of political order in Iraq as a result of the 2003 American-led invasion that has driven the success of the movement in capturing widespread Sunni support. Whether it can manage the complexities of the administration of a state remains open to question.     

Merely ‘Docile Self-Deception’? German Experiences with Nuclear Consultation in NATO

ABSTRACT

Recent nuclear-weapons-related consultation in NATO within the framework of the Defence and Deterrence Posture Review sheds light on historical experiences with nuclear consultation in NATO. In the early years of the Nuclear Planning Group (NPG), which became the main forum for multilateral nuclear consultation in the alliance, developing a nuclear weapons first use doctrine was of particular importance. This process led to the adoption of the Provisional Political Guidelines (PPGs) on the threat to initiate the use of nuclear weapons. With a focus on West Germany as the primary addressee of the NPG, it will be postulated that nuclear consultation functioned and may still be seen as an essential tool to manage the credibility of US extended nuclear deterrence in the framework of NATO.     

基于粒子滤波的目标跟踪抗野值算法

运用粒子滤波对目标位置进行跟踪时,测量数据的异常突变点、目标的机动转弯、粒子数量的制约和重要性密度函数的优劣都会导致估计误差较大的野值出现,这将严重影响雷达对目标的跟踪精度。现有的野值剔除方法在目标发生机动时,都存在误剔率较高的问题。针对这个问题,采用莱特准则与机动门限准则相结合的方法,提出了不确定观测点的概念,设计了一种适用于机动目标的抗野值粒子滤波算法。仿真结果表明,该方法能较好地检测和更新野值,降低跟踪误差,提高跟踪精度。     

动态滑翔运动建模、机理分析与航迹优化

信天翁凭借动态滑翔的飞行技巧从梯度风中获取能量,从而在几乎不拍翅膀的情况下进行长时间、长距离飞行,这种技巧应用于小型无人机上可拓展其完成任务的能力。基于飞行器动力学对梯度风场中的无人机运动方程进行推导和简化处理;利用简化的运动方程,分别从非惯性参考系中的动能定理和机械能变化的角度,对动态滑翔获取能量的机理进行分析;利用微分平坦法,以最小平均控制输入变化率为目标函数,对徘徊模式和平移模式的动态滑翔航迹进行优化计算。分析结果表明:逆风爬升、顺风下滑是动态滑翔基本获能方式。优化结果表明:控制输入变得更加平滑,甚至出现阶段性的常值,使得控制更加简化;徘徊模式下,当风梯度作为决策变量时,优化过程可在[0,0.5 s-1]的区间上找到使得目标函数值最小的风梯度;平移模式下,目标函数值在该区间上单调递减。     

一种改进的均方根容积粒子滤波算法

传统的粒子滤波算法在重要性采样估计时忽略了当前量测影响。在非线性场景下,传统的粒子滤波导致个别粒子具有大权值,造成估计结果精度差。针对该问题,结合均方根容积卡尔曼滤波(SCKF)算法和Gating技术,提出了一种新的重要性函数估计算法。本算法将后验概率作为重要性采样函数,通过利用SCKF和统计距离,建立粒子与量测的关联关系,实现对重要性采样函数的均值和协方差矩阵的估计。而后,使用粒子滤波算法,对多目标状态和数目进行估计。实验表明,在非线性跟踪场景下,本算法估计精度高,估计结果稳定。     

一种改进的基于交互式模型的机动目标跟踪算法

针对传统的以匀速(CV)或匀加速(CA)运动作为目标运动模型的卡尔曼跟踪滤波器的计算量大及跟踪精度低的固有缺陷,提出了一种基于CV和CA的交互式卡尔曼滤波模型的机动目标跟踪算法,该算法能在保持直线运动跟踪精度不变的前提下,使做曲线运动的目标的跟踪精度逼近做直线运动的目标的跟踪精度。并将CV和CA模型混合起来进行仿真估计,系统仿真结果表明该算法提高了系统的跟踪精度。     

基于磁流变液的飞机起落架嵌入式缓冲控制器设计

基于飞机着陆和滑行过程中,飞机起落架中磁流变阻尼器的阻尼力的不可控的问题。提出基于磁流变液的飞机起落架嵌入式缓冲控制器设计方法,设计了针对控制磁流变阻尼器阻尼力的缓冲控制系统,主要包括嵌入式数字信号处理器DSP的选择,控制系统的原理设计,电源产生电路和复位电路模块,JTAG仿真电路模块,A/D采样校正模块,D/A转换模块,压控电流源驱动模块。通过电路模块的仿真,由控制系统中压控电流源出来的电流在阻尼器接受范围之内,证明了设计的磁流变缓冲控制器能对阻尼力的大小进行控制,对飞机起落架的缓冲系统起到调节作用。     

舰艇对空自防御系统集成优化方法

舰艇对空自防御系统的集成优化设计是提高系统使用性能的重要途径,系统地分析了舰艇对空自防御系统集成优化的总体思路和主要工作内容,提出了采用开放式体系架构和基于公共计算服务环境技术的舰艇对空自防御系统集成优化方案。     

基于先验知识的降秩STAP方法研究

提出了一种基于杂波先验知识的降秩(RR)空时自适应处理(STAP)方法——KA-RR法,该方法首先利用载机平台运动参数、雷达系统参数及地形、地貌参数等先验知识构建机载雷达杂波模型,然后通过该模型对机载雷达杂波数据进行预白化处理,最后利用降秩STAP方法自适应抑制剩余杂波。仿真结果表明,相对于传统的降秩STAP方法,KA-RR方法具有更好的杂波抑制性能和更强的鲁棒性。