Brothers in arms,yet again? Twenty-first century Sino-Russian strategic collaboration in the realm of defence and security

2014–2015 were years of turmoil for strategic relations, with Sino-Russian relations emerging as a particularly interesting set of ties to observe. This article asks whether recurrent Sino-Russian exhortations of friendship are mirrored by their strategic alignment in the defence and security realm, half a century after the end of the Sino-Soviet pact during the communist era. We examine the arms trade between the two countries and with regional partners, but also the recent pattern of bilateral and multilateral military exercises, as a combined test of the security and defence relationship. We are able to show that the image of friendship that both Moscow and Beijing like to promote, while apparent at the UN Security Council and within the BRICS group, remains constrained by rivalry in high-tech segments of the arms industry and by lingering concerns about the prospects of peer interference in their shared regional vicinity.     

Gendered divisions of military labour in the British armed forces

This paper examines statistical data on the employment of women in the British armed forces. It reviews some of the issues shaping debates about women’s military employment, in order to establish the on-going significance of the topic. It looks at patterns of female military employment across the three services, and places discussion of this in the context of observations about gendered divisions of labour in the wider UK labour market. It examines data for the gendered divisions of labour within different corps, branches and occupational groups within each of the three armed services, and looks at gender patterns across ranks. It concludes by discussing the implications of these findings for both policy and conceptual work on women’s military participation.     

After ISAF: partners and proxies in Afghanistan after 2014

The conclusion of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission in Afghanistan at the end of 2014 has generated substantial uncertainty about the duration and level of international commitment to Afghanistan. The fate of local allies of international forces is therefore deeply in doubt. This article is of necessity speculative rather than empirical, but it attempts to draw on the history of previous intervention in Afghanistan as well as more general patterns of local and external alliance to sketch plausible scenarios for the fate of local allies. It proceeds in four parts. First, it draws distinctions between different types of local allies in Afghanistan based on position and relationship to the Afghan state and an external actor. Second, it examines the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan for relevant lessons for the fate of local allies. Third, it presents a scenario based on the foregoing that assumes there will be an ongoing small but significant international military presence and accompanying resources. Fourth, it presents a scenario that assumes there will be no or minimal international military presence and accompanying resources.     

French intervention in Mali: strategic alliances,long-term regional presence?

The March 2012 coup in Mali opened the door to expanded territorial occupation in northern Mali by Tuareg separatists and subsequently armed Islamist extremists. French forces intervened at the behest of the interim government in Mali. This article examines how various actors frame the conflict to their advantage. While the Malian government and France are allies, the position of various Tuareg actors shift over time as they strategize and weigh the value of allegiance with the French. Local extremist organizations are labeled as terrorists and are targeted as enemies. This article argues that the conflict has been decontextualized and framed within the ‘war on terror’. France’s decision to intervene and to expand their regional military presence, rather than exit, is legitimized by the framing of their intervention as integral to counterterrorism efforts.     

军事无线通信抗干扰装备及技术发展

以经典扩跳频抗干扰通信技术为切入点,综述了外军短波、超短波战术通信和数据链领域抗干扰装备和技术的发展现状,在此基础上,对通信抗干扰技术未来发展趋势进行了分析和预测。     

基于集对分析和LS-SVM的装备研制风险综合评价

【】为了有效防控武器装备的研制风险,确保武器装备项目的顺利推进,提出一种基于集对分析(SPA)理论与最小二乘支持向量机(LS-SVM)方法的装备研制风险综合评价方法。在该方法中,首先,根据武器装备研制的具体特点,建立了装备研制风险评价指标体系。然后,在此基础上,引入SPA分析理论中的联系度和集对概念构建了训练样本和测试样本。最后,使用获取的样本对LS-SVM进行训练和测试,得到装备研制风险评价模型,并据此给出评价结果。案例分析表明,所提出方法过程简便,定性定量结合,形式易于理解,评价结果也更加贴近实际,对于提升装备研制项目风险管理和决策水平,具有重要的实际意义。     

US–China military relations: competition and cooperation

ABSTRACT

China’s efforts to build a ‘new type of great power relations’ and a ‘new type of military-to-military relations’ do not constitute a major turning point in relations with the United States. Political relations set limits on military cooperation, and the two sides have been unable to construct a sustainable strategic basis for relations. This has contributed to an ‘on-again, off-again’ pattern in military ties. Trends show a pattern of frequent disruptions in military-to-military relations from 2000 to 2010, followed by an increase in interactions beginning in 2012. Nevertheless, obstacles on both sides are likely to limit mutual trust and constrain future development of military-to-military relations.     

基于集对分析的军用车辆修理社会化保障效益评价

在构建效益评价指标体系基础之上,基于集对分析思想提出了一种军用车辆修理社会化保障效益评价新方法,并结合实例对评价模型进行了检验,结果客观、合理。     

装备使用质量信息的UML模型

针对装备使用质量信息管理现状,利用统一建模语言（UML）,对装备使用质量信息的内容及关系进行了分析研究。首先从用户需求角度,给出了装备使用质量信息管理的用例图,然后针对装备使用质量信息管理的4个模块,采用类图进行信息建模,描述装备使用质量信息基本表结构及其关系。     

装备液压系统泄漏量原位检测评估模型

在分析通用液压元件结构的基础上,建立了装备液压系统原位检测条件下的泄漏量评估模型。以某型装备柱塞泵为例,进行了泄漏量评估标准的具体计算和原位不解体流量检测试验,通过对比检测结果和评估标准,判断出了该泵的技术状况。