Battlefield Intelligence Research Articles

An infrared small target detection model via Gather-Excite attention and normalized Wasserstein distance.

Infrared small target detection (ISTD) is the main research content for defense confrontation, long-range precision strikes and battlefield intelligence reconnaissance. Targets from the aerial view have the characteristics of small size and dim signal. These characteristics affect the performance of traditional detection models. At present, the target detection model based on deep learning has made huge advances. The You Only Look Once (YOLO) series is a classic branch. In this paper, a model with better adaptation capabilities, namely ISTD-YOLOv7, is proposed for infrared small target detection. First, the anchors of YOLOv7 are updated to provide prior. Second, Gather-Excite (GE) attention is embedded in YOLOv7 to exploit feature context and spatial location information. Finally, Normalized Wasserstein Distance (NWD) replaces IoU in the loss function to alleviate the sensitivity of YOLOv7 for location deviations of small targets. Experiments on a standard dataset show that the proposed model has stronger detection performance than YOLOv3, YOLOv5s, SSD, CenterNet, FCOS, YOLOXs, DETR and the baseline model, with a mean Average Precision (mAP) of 98.43%. Moreover, ablation studies indicate the effectiveness of the improved components.

Research on Task Scenario-oriented Information User Concern Mining Technology

With the rapid evolution of war forms and the profound reform of combat forms, battlefield intelligence information will present complex and diverse characteristics. Faced with a large number of complex intelligence information, it is difficult for users to obtain the key information in the battlefield to make real-time decision aid by using traditional methods. Based on the analysis of user interaction behavior rules of intelligence users of different levels, different identities and different specialties facing different task scenarios and different battle stages, the information that users pay attention to, the way that users want to display information and the way that users want to input information can be obtained. Firstly, the task scene is modeled, and the current task scene can be sensed in real time. Secondly, the user behavior under the current scenario is collected and stored in the user behavior analysis sample database. Finally, the user behavior analysis model is constructed, and the model outputs the content that the current user pays attention to, the desired presentation way and the desired information input way. The mission-scenario-oriented information user concern mining technology is an important component of the mission-scenario-oriented information product adaptive service technology, which can support the collection of operational user behavior and the analysis of behavior rules in the interactive process of operational information. This technology mainly studied user interaction behavior preferences facing different task scenarios, and provides basis for information recommendation and information adaptive presentation.

Obtaining of the Modal Frequency Parameters a Middle Class Armed Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle Using Engineering Simulation ANSYS Program

Baykar Bayraktar TB2 (Tactical Block 2) is a domestically armed unmanned aerial vehicle produced by Turkey-based Baykar Defense. It is accepted in the middle class armed unmanned aerial vehicle class with its dimensions and the amount of useful load it can carry. Medium UAV class is an accepted classification for UAV’s that are too heavy to be carried by one person but still smaller than a light aircraft. There are also medium-sized UAV’s with a rotary base. Unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), also known as fighter aircraft, colloquially abbreviated as drone, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) used for intelligence, surveillance, target designation and reconnaissance and carrying aircraft munitions. Drones can use missiles, ATGM’s and/or bombs at fixed points for their attacks. Drones are often under real-time human control and have varying degrees of autonomy. Unlike unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, SİHAs are used for both unmanned aerial vehicle attacks and battlefield intelligence. The solid model was used ready-made in 1:1 scale. All the parameters were obtained using the Rotax 912 engine with two blades used in the design of the primary models. Modal analysis is that the study of dynamic properties of systems below vibration. Accelerometers help calculate the vibration of the system when attached to a shaker. Modal analysis on aircraft emerges as the analysis of the vibration period and modes of the wind on aircraft. Analyzing the solid model according to the correct design criteria in the analysis program, making the correct simplifications, getting the mesh network properly and with success, directly have an affect on the accuracy of the modal analysis results.

TECHNOLOGY OF PROPULSION SYSTEM FOR UNMANNED COMBAT AERIAL VEHICLE (UCAV) – A REVIEW

Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is used for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance and carries aircraft ordnance such as missiles, ATGMs, and/or bombs in hardpoints for drone strikes. These drones are usually under realtime human control, with varying levels of autonomy. Unlike unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aerial vehicles, UCAVs are used for both drone strikes and battlefield intelligence. Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) propulsion technology is significantly related to the flight performance of UCAVs, which has become one of the most important development directions of aviation. It should be noted that UCAVs have three types of propulsion systems, namely the fuel, hybrid fuel-electric, and pure electric, respectively. This paper presents and discusses the classification, working principles, characteristics, and critical technologies of these three types of propulsion systems. It is helpful to establish the development framework of the UCAV propulsion system and provide the essential information on electric propulsion UCAVs. Additionally, future technologies and development, including the high-power density motors, converters, power supplies, are discussed for the electric propulsion UCAVs. In the near future, the electric propulsion system would be widely used in UCAVs. The high-power density system would become the development trend of electric UCAVs. Thus, this review article provides comprehensive views and multiple comparisons of propulsion systems for UCAVs.

ISTDet: An efficient end-to-end neural network for infrared small target detection

Infrared small target detection has made many breakthroughs in early warning, guidance and battlefield intelligence. However, infrared small target occupies less pixels and lacks color and texture features, which makes infrared small target detection a challenging subject. To achieve the infrared small target detection, an efficient end-to-end network ISTDet is proposed in this paper. ISTDet mainly consists of two modules, including image filtering module and infrared small target detection module. The image filtering module is proposed to obtain the confidence map, aiming to enhance the response of infrared small targets and suppress the response of background. The infrared small target detection module takes the infrared image activated by the confidence map as input, aiming to speculate the category and position of the infrared small targets. Multi-task loss function is used to train the ISTDet in an end-to-end way. Finally, we do comparative experiments on five infrared small target sequences to demonstrate the detection performance of ISTDet. The results show ISTDet has better performance for infrared small target detection compared with other detectors.

Nr="89"Military Intelligence and Long-Term Planning in the Ninth Century : The Carolingians and Their Adversaries

Abstract: Historians of warfare in the western tradition have devoted considerable attention to the problem of military intelligence from the Greek and Persian wars of the fifth century B.C.E. up to the recent past. Strikingly absent from this conversation, however, has been the treatment of the acquisition and analysis of information for military purposes in pre-Crusade Europe, particularly in the Carolingian and immediate post-Carolingian world. In part, this lacuna is the result of a general neglect by modern scholars of military matters in the ninth and tenth centuries. A second major reason for the lack of studies of military intelligence is the dead hand of nineteenth-century romantic-nationalist historiography that has imposed a “dark-age” straight-jacket on many aspects of the history of the early medieval world. This emphatically includes the history of warfare, which has been treated in the context of a putatively Tacitean or Beowulfian quest for honor and booty, rather than as a highly complex element of governmental activity. The present study addresses this gap in modern understanding of the complex nature of early medieval warfare through an examination of military intelligence in the ninth century with a focus on the Carolingians and their opponents, primarily the Vikings, the Muslim polity in Spain, and the Slavs. The study is divided into three parts that examine in turn, strategic intelligence, campaign intelligence, and tactical or battlefield intelligence.

THE SOME QUESTIONS OF AUTONOMOUS MOTION AND MANAGEMENT OF LAND-MOBILE ROBOTIC COMPLEXES FOR UKRAINIAN GROUND FORCESE

Today, more than forty countries of the world are engaged in the development of military-purpose robots. A number of unique mobile robots with a wide range of capabilities are already being used by combat and intelligence units of the Armed forces of the developed world countries to conduct battlefield intelligence and support tactical groups. At present, the issue of using the latest information technology in the field of military robotics is thoroughly investigated, and the creation of highly effective information management systems in the land-mobile robotic complexes has acquired a new phase associated with the use of distributed information and sensory systems and consists in the transition from application of separate sensors and devices to the construction of modular information subsystems, which provide the availability of various data sources and complex methods of information processing. The purpose of the article is to investigate the ways to increase the autonomy of the land-mobile robotic complexes using in a non-deterministic conditions of modern combat. Relevance of researches is connected with the necessity of creation of highly effective information and control systems in the perspective robotic means for the needs of Land Forces of Ukraine. The development of the Armed Forces of Ukraine management system based on the criteria adopted by the EU and NATO member states is one of the main directions of increasing the effectiveness of the use of forces (forces), which involves achieving the principles and standards necessary for Ukraine to become a member of the EU and NATO. The inherent features of achieving these criteria will be the transition to a reduction of tasks of the combined-arms units and the large-scale use of high-precision weapons and land remote-controlled robotic devices. According to the views of the leading specialists in the field of robotics, the automation of information subsystems and components of the land-mobile robotic complexes can increase safety, reliability, error-tolerance and the effectiveness of the use of robotic means by standardizing the necessary actions with minimal human intervention, that is, a significant increase in the autonomy of the land-mobile robotic complexes for the needs of Land Forces of Ukraine.

THE WAYS OF THE EXPANSION OF THE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS OF LAND-MOBILE ROBOTIC COMPLEXES IN THE CONDITIONS OF CONDUCT NETWORK-CENTRIC BATTLE

Today, more than forty countries of the world are engaged in the development of military-purpose robots. A number of unique mobile robots with a wide range of capabilities are already being used by combat and intelligence units of the Armed forces of the developed world countries to conduct battlefield intelligence and support tactical groups. At present, the issue of using the latest information technology in the field of military robotics is thoroughly investigated, and the creation of highly effective information management systems in the land-mobile robotic complexes has acquired a new phase associated with the use of distributed information and sensory systems and consists in the transition from application of separate sensors and devices to the construction of modular information subsystems, which provide the availability of various data sources and complex methods of information processing. The purpose of the article is to investigate the ways to increase the autonomy of the land-mobile robotic complexes using in a non-deterministic conditions of modern combat. Relevance of researches is connected with the necessity of creation of highly effective information and control systems in the perspective robotic means for the needs of Land Forces of Ukraine. The development of the Armed Forces of Ukraine management system based on the criteria adopted by the EU and NATO member states is one of the main directions of increasing the effectiveness of the use of forces (forces), which involves achieving the principles and standards necessary for Ukraine to become a member of the EU and NATO. The inherent features of achieving these criteria will be the transition to a reduction of tasks of the combined-arms units and the large-scale use of high-precision weapons and land remote-controlled robotic devices. According to the views of the leading specialists in the field of robotics, the automation of information subsystems and components of the land-mobile robotic complexes can increase safety, reliability, error-tolerance and the effectiveness of the use of robotic means by standardizing the necessary actions with minimal human intervention, that is, a significant increase in the autonomy of the land-mobile robotic complexes for the needs of Land Forces of Ukraine.

Effectiveness of RoboLeader for Dynamic Re-Tasking in an Urban Environment

RoboLeader is an intelligent agent that has the capabilities of coordinating a team of ground robots and revising route plans for the robots based on battlefield intelligence. Specifically, RoboLeader can support dynamic re-tasking based on battlefield developments as well as coordination between aerial and ground robots in pursuit of moving targets. In the current study, we manipulated the level of automation for RoboLeader as well as the presence of a visualization tool (which informed the participants about their target entrapment performance) in the RoboLeader user interface. Results showed that RoboLeader (Fully Automated condition) was more effective in encapsulating the moving targets than were the human operators (when they were either without assistance from RoboLeader or when they were partially assisted by RoboLeader). Participants successfully encapsulated the moving targets only 63% of the time in the Manual condition but 89% of the time when they were assisted by RoboLeader. Those participants who play video games frequently demonstrated significantly better encapsulation performance than did infrequent gamers; they also had better situation awareness of the mission environment. Visualization had little effect on participants’ performance. Finally, participants reported significantly higher workload when they were in the Manual condition than when they were assisted by RoboLeader.

Design of Video Sensor Based on Wireless Sensor Networks

Introduces a wireless video sensor, which is based on wireless sensor networks technique. It can be widely used including battlefield intelligence, security monitoring, and environmental tracking. The Zigbee communication protocols is based on the IEEE 802.15.4-2003 standard. With JPEG compression, the video can be transmitted through the low rate wireless network. Wireless video sensor nodes form mesh networks, and transmit video information to coordinator. The coordinator connects to monitor station, and the monitor software display the video from the nodes in the wireless networks.

Network-centric Warfare and the Globalization of Technology: Transforming simple tools into dangerous weapons

Network-centric Warfare and the Globalization of Technology WAR TECH SPRING WAR TECH Transforming simple tools into dangerous weapons New applications of technology, such as sonar and radios to the Internet, GPS (Global Positioning System) and satellite radar, have increased the ease of communication, revolutionizing the technical aspect of war. However, the globalization of the newest technologies brings new mean- ing to the multifunctional power of these devices, making them no longer exclusive to the government and the mili- tary. The utility of such technology is now in the hands of the global masses which can prove progressive, but also dangerous when applied to warfare. The Changing Nature of Technological Warfare ting the target and minimizing civilian casualties (Muller Far infrared technology applied to binoculars and cameras provide visuals at night, making operations in the absence of light possible. An MQ-1 Predator, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), mounted with far infrared surveil- lance cameras, flies over the city to track the motion of troops and enemy activity in urban areas. The UAV can detect whether an automobile or tank engine is running (or has been recently running) solely from the warmth of the engine. Radar, a system of electromagnetic waves, comple- ments infrared in surveillance. A synthetic aperture radar carried on a Predator can take a radar image of several city blocks with a ground resolution of thirty centimeters. It looks like a sharp photo taken from directly above. Using the new Joint Tactical Information Distribution System, the image is delivered to the ground troops in nearly real time by Ann Oh Efficiency and greater access to technology flat- tened the chain of military command, giving soldiers on the ground greater access to information in order to calculate their next moves. Some believed that the recent advance- ments in technological warfare would make war as “pre- dictable as chess” and bring an easy victory (Muller 2002). Unfortunately, the Iraq War exposed the true “…the advent of the internet hor- danger in technological warfare as terrorists wield every- day technology to their advantage. Furthermore, the izontally streamlined this flow of inability to bring stability to the region shattered the faith information for a more efficient and in technology to accelerate the process of war and to bring a quick end. The distribution of technology caused comprehensive response.” by globalization reduces the exclusive advantage of the military by allowing greater access of information to terrorists, enabling them to create vast international net- (Muller 2002). This helps the military to better assess the works and have influence on a global scale. Paradoxically, situation. In terms of communication, cell phones – smaller technology does not simplify war; instead, it complicates it and more reliable than Morse code and radios – have further. Therefore, “network-centric warfare” back-fired on replaced WWI technology to increase connectivity and the military, preventing rational responses while consuming mobility. itself in analyzing massive amounts of data collected to produce a theoretically ideal, yet impractical response. The Internet as a Revolutionary Tool Common Technology and their Military Uses GPS utilizes a constellation of twenty-four satellites that transmit precise microwave signals and enable a GPS receiver to determine its location , speed, direction, and time. Most of the bombs used by the U.S. military are JDAMS (Joint Direct Attack Munitions). These are missiles with inexpensive guidance systems attached to their backs. JDAMs use GPS satellites to guide them to previously pro- grammed locations. They are effective and accurate in hit- Internet proves to be a critical tool in efficient com- munication and in the transfer of bulk data of various medi- ums, such as images and video. Instant communication allows military personnel to be contacted in a matter of sec- onds, which is critical in obtaining immediate battlefield intelligence. According to Thomas Friedman in The World is Flat, the use of basic tools such as the internet flattens the platform upon which the military networks. The stream- ing video transmitted by the unmanned aerial vehicle is fed instantly to flat-screen TVs in the CIA, the DIA, the NSA,

Resource allocation and performance analysis of wireless video sensors

Wireless video sensor networks (WVSNs) have been envisioned for a wide range of important applications, including battlefield intelligence, security monitoring, emergency response, and environmental tracking. Compared to traditional communication system, the WVSN operates under a set of unique resource constraints, including limitations with respect to energy supply, on-board computational capability, and transmission bandwidth. The objective of this paper is to study the resource utilization behavior of a wireless video sensor and analyze its performance under the resource constraints. More specifically, we develop an analytic power-rate-distortion (P-R-D) model to characterize the inherent relationship between the power consumption of a video encoder and its rate-distortion performance. Based on the P-R-D analysis and a simplified model for wireless transmission power, we study the optimum power allocation between video encoding and wireless transmission and introduce a measure called achievable minimum distortion to quantify the distortion under a total power constraint. We consider two scenarios in wireless video sensing, small-delay wireless video monitoring and large-delay wireless video surveillance, and analyze the performance limit of the wireless video sensor in each scenario. The analysis and results obtained in this paper provide an important guideline for practical wireless video sensor design.

The US Army's New Air Defense Command and Control System: The Human Factors Design Process

TRW is currently under contract to produce the US Army's new Command, Control, and Intelligence (C2I) system for its forward areas air defense elements. The system design is characterized by automatic dissemination of tactical aircraft data as well as battlefield intelligence information. The Human Factors Engineering effort on this program has been responsible for all aspects of the design of the operator interface. The effort has focused attention on the value of interactive prototypes for the purpose of detailed design. This paper describes the Human Factors design process on this program and presents a two-phase approach to a rapid prototyping effort. Future plans to use objective data collected from prototype work in conjunction with a formal task analysis are also discussed.