‘Mowing the Grass’: Israel’sStrategy for Protracted Intractable Conflict

‘Mowing the Grass’, Israel’s strategy in the twenty-first century against hostile non-state groups, reflects the assumption that Israel finds itself in a protracted intractable conflict. The use of force in such a conflict is not intended to attain impossible political goals, but a strategy of attrition designed primarily to debilitate the enemy capabilities. Only after showing much restraint in its military responses does Israel act forcefully to destroy the capabilities of its foes, hoping that occasional large-scale operations also have a temporary deterrent effect in order to create periods of quiet along its borders. The Israeli approach is substantively different from the current Western strategic thinking on dealing with non-state military challenges.     

潜艇耐压环肋圆柱壳结构可靠性分析

对潜艇耐压圆柱壳结构进行可靠性分析时,首先应研究结构的承载能力,并综合要求、能力两个方面,计算其失效概率和可靠度。在能力方面,本文讨论了５种主要失效模式：肋骨和壳板总体失稳、肋间壳失稳、肋骨屈服、肋间壳屈服和肋骨侧向失稳。考虑了初挠度、屈服应力、弹性模量等７个基本随机变量的影响。在要求方面,结构载荷以确定值处理。本文计算分析了３种艇型耐压圆柱壳结构的可靠性。     

试析美国空军核心价值观的培育及其特点

通过分析美国空军核心价值观的内涵和培育,阐述其注重军人个人道德品质和品格培养,将核心价值观的理念渗透到日常工作和生活中,使之内化为个人习惯的特点。     

South African defence policy: the rationale and impact of the SANDF’s primary role and conventional force design

The 2015 South African Defence Review set out to reverse the deterioration of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) capabilities. Within the South African Department of Defence (DOD) this deterioration is expressed mainly in terms of a decreasing defence budget, subsequent declining conventional capabilities and obsolete prime mission equipment. Contemporary research and defence expert debates on this theme, point out the disjuncture between policy ends and the available means, with scepticism for an increased defence budget given the DOD’s lack of internal reform and strategy adjustment. One question that remains largely unanswered in the literature regarding the decline of the SANDF, is why both the policy-makers and the SANDF have remained focused on the primary role of the military (defending territorial integrity) accompanied with an unaffordable conventional force design? This question relates to the aim of this paper and is explored by revisiting initial defence policy decisions and compromises that were made in the 1990s. It is argued that the primary role of the SANDF and its conventional force design suited the interests of both the politicians and the military, but that the drawbacks thereof have harshly caught up with the DOD.     

Coping with the refugee and migrant crisis in Slovenia: the role of the military

Approximately 470,000 refugees and migrants passed through Slovenian territory between September 2015 and March 2016, creating a crisis that required a great deal of organisational and field work on the part of many governmental and non-governmental institutions. In the social sciences, a discourse on “security versus humanitarian approach” on the refugees and migrant issue appeared; however, the article goes over such a discourse and deals with roles and problems of different institutions – mostly the military – that responded to the crisis. Namely, coping with the crisis was characterised by significant institutional adjustments, difficult co-ordination, and intense public debate. The Slovenian Armed Forces were included in this process as support for Civil Protection and Police. The military’s role followed the military missions defined by the Defence Act; however, the government also proposed some changes to the act that were met with some doubts on the part of the public and different institutions.     

Addressing the “headwinds” faced by the European arms industry

ABSTRACT

The European arms industry is challenged by several adverse “headwinds.” Fragmentation leads to costly duplications and, in conjunction with stagnating budgets and sharply increasing costs, prevents firms from exploiting economies of scale and learning. This is exacerbated by size differentials vis-a-vis the leading US arms manufacturers and competition from emerging producers. As some “headwinds” are self-enforcing, far-reaching industrial and policy responses are required to improve the industry's outlook. As exports may not indefinitely compensate for low domestic demand, there is an economic imperative for further cross-border collaboration and consolidation. Despite various EU policy initiatives, progresses regarding the European Defence Equipment Market and strengthening the European Defence Technological Industrial Base have been relatively slow. It remains to be seen whether the European Defence Fund will be the proclaimed “game-changer,” raising competitiveness of the European arms industry. At the same time, the UK's withdrawal from the EU adds uncertainties.     

Influence of shaped charge structure parameters on the formation of linear explosively formed projectiles

The research of LEFP (linear explosive forming projectile) is of great value to the development of new warhead due to its excellent performance. To further improve the damage ability of the shaped charge warhead, a special shell overhanging structure was designed to increase the charge based on the traditional spherical charge, in which case the crushing energy of LEFP could be guaranteed. LS-DYNA was used to simulate different charge structures obtained by changing the number of detonation points, the length of shell platform, the radius of curvature and the thickness of liner. The RSM (response surface model) between the molding parameters of LEFP and the structural parameters of charge was established. Based on RSM model, the structure of shaped charge was optimized by using multi-objective genetic algorithm. Meanwhile, the formation process of jet was analyzed by pulsed X-ray photography. The results show that the velocity, length-diameter ratio and specific kinetic energy of the LEFP were closely related to the structural parameters of the shaped charge. After the optimization of charge structure, the forming effect and penetration ability of LEPP had been significantly improved. The experimental data of jet velocity and length were consistent with the numerical results, which verifies the reliability of the numerical results.     

新形势下加强和改进武警审计工作的思考

武警审计是政府审计体系的重要组成部分,在监督经费运行、规范军事经济秩序方面发挥着重要作用,但随着军事经济改革的不断深入、国家审计制度的不断创新,武警审计在审计理念、审计目标、审计手段等方面存在一定问题。从提高审计意识、调整审计体制、适应审计发展趋势三个方面探讨了解决上述问题的对策。     

革命歌曲在建设现代化武警中的作用

革命歌曲具有催人奋进的独特精神力量,是革命军人战斗力的“力量倍增器”。在建设现代化武警过程中,革命歌曲可以发挥理想导引功能、信念塑造功能、团结凝聚功能、精神激励功能、情操陶冶功能。     

Collective action and the common enemy effect

How is collective defence by players affected when they face a threat from an intelligent attacker rather than a natural threat? This paper analyses this question using a game-theoretic model. Facing an intelligent attacker has an effect if players move first and visibly set their defence strategies, thereby exposing any players who do not defend, and if the attacker is, moreover, not able to commit to a random attack. Depending on the parameters of the game, the presence of an intelligent attacker either increases the probability that players jointly defend (where such joint defence either does or does not constitute a utilitarian optimum), or decreases the probability that players jointly defend (even though joint defence is a utilitarian optimum).