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.     

A multi‐stage stochastic programming approach for network capacity expansion with multiple sources of capacity

In networks, there are often more than one sources of capacity. The capacities can be permanently or temporarily owned by the decision maker. Depending on the nature of sources, we identify the permanent capacity, spot market capacity, and contract capacity. We use a scenario tree to model the uncertainty, and build a multi‐stage stochastic integer program that can incorporate multiple sources and multiple types of capacities in a general network. We propose two solution methodologies for the problem. Firstly, we design an asymptotically convergent approximation algorithm. Secondly, we design a cutting plane algorithm based on Benders decomposition to find tight bounds for the problem. The numerical experiments show superb performance of the proposed algorithms compared with commercial software. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 63: 600–614, 2017     

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.     

基于多目标的雷达组网传感器资源管理算法

在雷达组网系统的多目标跟踪过程中,当目标数量过多时,由于传感器资源不足,无法使用传统传感器的管理方法进行资源分配,且运算时间过长,不满足工程实际需求。针对以上问题,提出了一种新的多传感器多目标跟踪任务快速分配算法,该算法将跟踪目标个数和跟踪目标精度作为优化目标,首先按照设定的分配准则对传感器进行一次分配,最大化跟踪目标个数;然后利用一种基于传感器排序的启发式传感器分配方法进行二次分配,通过控制跟踪目标的协方差水平,使目标的跟踪精度尽量接近期望值。仿真结果表明,该算法能够在较短的时间内对多传感器进行有效快速地分配,既跟踪了更多的目标,又达到了期望目标的跟踪精度,并且在一定程度上控制资源消耗,减少系统的总耗能。     

基于相关性函数的多站微动特征分析与提取

针对多站雷达精度跨度大、难以有效进行融合识别的问题,提出了基于相关性函数的多站加权融合方法。首先建立了弹道目标滑动散射模型,通过时延相乘重构回波,并利用扩展Hough变换提取出距离像的曲线参数,从而建立方程组以求取微动信息。然后利用相关性函数对各雷达的支持度进行分析,最终对支持度高的观测数据进行融合识别。仿真结果表明该方法计算简单,能有效提高微动参数的估计精度,客观地反映各部雷达的可靠度。     

基于瞬时相位差分特性的数据传输系统丢点检测方法

针对数据传输系统丢点问题,依据连续正弦信号瞬时相位差分特性,探讨了一种自动检测数据传输系统丢点方法。首先在数据传输系统采集前端加入正弦信号;然后将解包好的数据通过希尔伯特变换求取数据瞬时相位,并从前向后进行相位补偿,使数据瞬时相位呈连续递增形式;最后通过相位差分法求得瞬时相位前向差分。由理论分析可知:连续正弦信号未丢点时,当前位置数据相比前一位置数据相位差为2πfc/fs(fc为正弦信号频率,fs为数据传输系统采样率);连续正弦信号丢点时,当前位置数据相比前一位置数据相位差为2πfc(n+1)/fs(n为传输数据丢失点数)。由此特性,可实现对数据传输系统是否丢点实现自动检测。理论分析和实验结果表明,探讨的数据传输系统丢点检测方法可实现对数据传输系统是否丢点实现自动检测,便于工程应用。     

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。     

基于离散事件仿真要素的军事仿真因果追溯方法

基于离散事件系统建模与仿真的军事仿真系统在军事筹划阶段扮演着至关重要的作用。因果追溯与分析是军事仿真中重要的技术,它可以在大量的数据与复杂的交互关系中找出时序上的关联关系,帮助研究人员确定作战行动中的一些关键实体或事件,用于探究战争的发展脉络与蕴含其中的因果关系。首先对作战仿真领域的因果追溯分析做了简要介绍,然后提出了一种基于离散事件仿真要素的因果追溯分析方法,这种方法可以分析军事仿真中的因果关系,并且有很高的通用性和良好的实用性。     

磁探针位置及角度偏移对电磁发射过程测试的影响

简化电磁发射装置中的导轨和电枢为线电流下的直导体,建立发射装置的物理模型。利用毕奥-萨伐尔定律和感应电动势原理,推导出磁探针线圈中心放置点的磁感强度。假设线圈范围内的磁场为均匀磁场,计算得到磁探针线圈产生的电动势。以此设计测量所用的磁探针,并和测试数据对比验证模型的正确性。在多次试验中发现,发射过程中装置振动导致磁探针距离变化和角度偏转问题。测量并分析三组单次发射中的故障测试状态。仿真和实验数据表明:小范围距离变化没有使磁探针的测试性能失效,但角度偏移对下一步的速度拟合带来误差干扰,且随着角度增大拟合速度逐步减小。