Century Defense Research Articles

Unsafe building: documenting heritage at risk through robotic and semi-autonomous survey

The National Trust cares for many places where access to heritage is restricted, for safety or other reasons, limiting the opportunity for monitoring, recording and visitor engagement. The remains of the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (AWRE) testing facility, built between 1954 and 1962 at Orford Ness on the Suffolk coast of England, represent such a case. The AWRE structures are a Scheduled Monument and sit within a wider landscape of twentieth century defence heritage. The buildings have attained a mythical status in popular culture and attract substantial visitor interest. However, they are unsafe to enter, and their long-term conservation strategy is to allow their gradual decline to a point where significant evidence is lost, with their ultimate loss to coastal erosion anticipated. Recognising these challenges, our work has sought to develop and assess a prototype use of robotic and semi-autonomous survey technology for heritage at risk in challenging environments. A suite of complementary technologies, including Boston Dynamics quadruped robots, caged and conventional drones combining laser scanning and digital photogrammetry were used. This paper provides an account of practicalities, benefits and limitations of robotic and semi-autonomous survey for documenting heritage assets.

Defence procurement in perspective: what the history of the aircraft industry can tell us about UK defence procurement

ABSTRACT Defence procurement in the UK has drawn a large degree of political and academic attention due to large-scale projects regularly being delayed and costing significantly more than the original estimate. The focus on contemporary defence procurement, however, suffers from one major drawback: a lack of historical contexualistation. This article redresses this imbalance between the focus on contemporary defence procurement and the problems faced purchasing military equipment in the past. The defence industry most representative of the contemporary procurement environment is the British aircraft industry in the inter-war period. This was an industry that was not publicly owned and presented dynamics that are comparable to today. This article explores the problems associated with twenty-first century defence procurement through this historical lens, demonstrating that many of the problems faced, and solutions proposed are not necessarily as new or innovative as has been claimed.

The Tower of Nisida as centre of 17th century fortified naples system

The paper investigates the territorial layout of the fortified system of Naples that developed during the Spanish Vice Kingdom in the 16th-17th centuries.Both existing castles and towers, and constructions built for the purpose, were included in the system. The Tower of Nisida is one of the existing ancient towers that became part of the impressive 17th century defense system of Naples.The study focus is on the strategic importance acquired by Nisida and its Tower in those years, when it became a key location in the fortified system, both evidencing its cruciality through the study of the field of vision that widens from the location and dealing the issue with the point of view landscape and territorial defense, recalling the concept that the defense architecture is part of architectural heritage.

Biogeochemical features of soil formation without parent rock in natural conditions and in an urban environment

The aim of the present study is to establish the biogeochemical characteristics of the primary soil formation, separately for natural conditions (protected areas) and urban environment (with incoming technogenic aerosols) for pedogenesis models when there is no parent rock (“upward soil growth”). This makes it possible to assess the contribution of the still poorly studied pedogenesis factors that can form the specific geochemical features of the material composition of soils non-inherited from the parent rock, and without the involvement of biogenic bottom-up migration of elements. We have studied two contrasting regions to perform a comparative analysis of pedogenesis conditions. We have compared embryonic soils on megalithic gabbro-diabase blocks in a 17th century defence wall located on the territory of a natural reserve, 1 km away from the Black Sea coast (ecologically clean area) and a 45-year solid bitumen cover between a thermal power plant and a busy railway (an industrial zone in the central part of the city). In the natural reserve, the average dust deposition rate was 0.82 um yr1 (0.082 mm/100 yr) due to stardust, atmospheric aerosols and biogenic processes of pedogenesis. The mineral part of soils, which had formed on the solid bitumen in 45 years in the city’s industrial zone, differs from the soil developed in 320-350 years without the involvement of the parent rock in the protected area by higher content of V (9 times) and Cr (2 times), as well as CaO, SiO2 and Pb. In the industrial zone of the city, emission dust mostly contributes to the accumulation of V, Cr and Cu in comparison with the pedogenesis conditions in the ecologically clean area, where the rate of solid-phase soil matter accumulation is twice lower due to background aerosols and biogenic factors.

Tower of Belém (Lisbon)-Status Quo 3D Documentation and Material Origin Determination.

The Tower of Belém, an early 16th century defense tower located at the mouth of the Tagus river, is the iconic symbol of Lisbon. It belongs to the Belém complex, classified since 1983 as a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO, and it is the second most visited monument in Portugal. On November 1st, 1755, there was a heavy earthquake in Lisbon followed by a tsunami, causing between 60,000 and 100,000 deaths. There is a possibility of a repetition of such a catastrophe, which could bring about the collapse of the structure. This was the reasoning behind the decision to evaluate the Tower of Belém by means of surveys using Terrestrial Laser Scanning and photogrammetry. Until now, there was no high-resolution 3D model of the interior and exterior of the tower. A complete 3D documentation of the state of the Tower was achieved with a cloud of more than 6,200 million 3D points in the ETRS89 PT-TM06 coordinate system. Additionally, measurements were made using a hyperspectral camera and a spectroradiometer to characterize the stone material used in the Tower. The result is a digital 3D representation of the Tower of Belém, and the identification of the quarries that may have been used to extract its stone. The work carried out combines geometrical and material analysis. The methods used may constitute a guide when documenting and intervening in similar heritage elements. Finally, the information contained therein will allow an eventual reconstruction of the Tower in the case of another catastrophe.

The Book of Gladness/Le Livre de Leesce, a14th Century Defense of Women, in English and French, by Jehan Le Fevre

The Book of Gladness/Le Livre de Leesce, a14th Century Defense of Women, in English and French, by Jehan Le Fevre

US strategic preferences in the early twenty-first century

This article investigates how US national security planners have envisioned the emerging strategic environment during the early twenty-first century and evaluates how their perceptions of this strategic environment have changed during these years. This conceptual evolution can be seen in how defense planners define threats, identify defense priorities, and design security strategies. Five key strategic planning documents serve as the basis for this analysis and illustrate significant shifts in how the US government has envisioned its own security requirements as well as the context within which its strategic vision will need to be realized. These planning documents are: (1) Joint Vision 2020, (2) the Bush Administration's 2002 National Security Strategy of the United States, (3) the Obama Administration's 2010 National Security Strategy, (4) US Strategic Defense Guidance entitled Sustaining US Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense, and (5) the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's Capstone Concept for Joint Operations: Joint Force 2020.

Great power governmentality? Coincidence and parallelism in the new strategic guidance for the US Department of Defense

In January 2012, the US administration released new strategic guidance for the Department of Defense entitled ‘Sustaining US Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense’. Two different security approaches seem to coincide in this document. By providing a governmental reading of the new strategic guidance, the aim of this article is to discuss if and how the guidance links a sovereign security understanding of great power politics on one side to governmental rationalities on the other. First, the guidance is discussed with regard to its main aims and strategies; then, second, the impact of governmentality in the guidance is revealed and systematized. Finally, the function that governmental logics have in the document, and the conceptual and political role that the minimally mediated encounter of sovereign (military) power politics with governmental rationalities plays, are considered.

A mid-seventeeth century defence of Galenism

A mid-seventeeth century defence of Galenism

A Japanese Perspective on U.S. Rebalancing toward the Asia-Pacific Region

I n January 2012, the U.S. Department of Defense released a new defense strategic guidance titled Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense. The document notes that the United States “will of necessity rebalance toward the Asia-Pacific region” and explains the reason for this change as being that “U.S. economic and security interests are inextricably linked to developments in the arc extending from the Western Pacific and East Asia into the Indian Ocean region and South Asia.”1 Security specialists in Japan, while welcoming this emphasis on Asian security, find themselves confronted by key questions concerning how Japan and the United States should coordinate their security strategies, how China’s rise will be addressed in U.S. policies related to rebalancing, and how Japan and the United States should work on the new posture of U.S. forward deployment in the region.

Managing Relative Decline: A Neoclassical Realist Analysis of the 2012 US Defense Strategic Guidance

The Defense Strategic Guidance (DSG), released by the White House in January 2012, was widely acknowledged as the most significant reassessment of America's strategic posture in a decade. Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense is not simply a response to systemic-level threats and interests, but reflected principles best articulated by neoclassical realism (NCR). By examining systemic, domestic, and elite influences affecting the United States in 2012, this article demonstrates that the DSG illustrates the core principles of neoclassical realism. The strategy reflected the Obama administration's filtration of systemic-level imperatives through elite perceptions and domestic politics. The DSG is realist because it sought foremost to address systemic challenges, including American relative decline. It is neoclassical realist because the strategy was markedly influenced by elite perceptions and domestic politics, resulting in deliberate gambles. Neorealism continues to have great value explaining systemic trends, but it cannot explain the specific foreign policies of individual states. NCR provides a way to retain the most effective analytical features of neorealism while incorporating the influence of domestic politics and elite perceptions on state policy-making. Neoclassical realism is a promising theoretical framework for foreign policy analysis, but further testing and refining is needed to ensure that it retains its descriptive accuracy and predictive capability.

Interview with Peter W. Singer

Peter W. Singer is Director of the 21st Century Defense Initiative at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. He is the author of three award winning books, Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry, Children at War, and Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century.1 He has served as a consultant with groups that range from the US military and FBI to human rights organizations.In this interview, Peter Singer explains to what extent and how new technologies change the way we think about going to war and the way we conduct war, as well as how they will impact the work of humanitarian actors. He shares his vision for the future, analyzing both the ethical and legal challenges that access to new advanced technologies poses and the opportunities it offers.

Football Game Rather Than Boxing Match: China-US Intensifying Rivalry Does not Amount to Cold War

Shortly after US President Obama and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard sealed the bilateral defense deal in November 2011 under which 2500 US marines will be stationed in Australia came Obama’s announcement on January 5 2012 of the new strategic defense guidance entitled Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for the 21 Century Defence. The document claims that China’s rise might have impact on the US economy and security, and that countries such as China and Iran continue to pursue asymmetric means of countering US power projection capabilities. Both the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense refuted these claims, arguing that not a shred of evidence exists to support such wild accusations. Many media reports nevertheless argue that competition between the United States and China amounts to a new Cold War.

The Moldovan Military Academy: Transforming Officer Education

Professional Military Education in ContextThe twenty-first century has ushered in an era of dynamic changes to the international security environment, which demands new capabilities and responses to new threats, an increased likelihood of operating as part of a multinational effort, combined with an expectation of economic austerity that places downward pressure on defense budgets. This dynamic security environment holds true for superpowers, like the United States, and nations at the other end of the geopolitical spectrum, like the Republic of Moldova. When it comes to the needs of military establishments across the entire range of national size and resources, they all share the same imperative for leader development and professional military education. General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, highlighted this imperative in his recently published Strategic Direction to the Joint Force. He identified the need to reinforce leadership development at all levels of Joint Professional Military Education, in order to develop principled leaders who can combine new capabilities in new ways in complex environments.1 All nations need to reform and leverage their professional military education programs.From the perspective of the United States and NATO, a second imperative relates to the efforts undertaken to assist other nations in the enhancement of their professional military education programs. A key tenet of the recently published U.S. defense guidance, Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21s' Century Defense, is building partnership capacity.2 Previous strategic documents have also stressed the importance of activities designed to enhance the professionalization of partner military forces, and former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, in a Foreign Affairs article titled Helping Others Defend Themselves, further elaborated on this concept by emphasizing the importance of building the institutional capacity or human capital of partner nations.3 The Declaration on Defense Capabilities, from the Chicago NATO Summit in 2012, also highlighted the importance of linkages with partner countries and the need to expand education and training. Partnership capacity building, in part, should be focused on providing assistance to partner and allied professional military education (PME) programs. It is through enhanced partner capacity, and the ability to operate in a multinational environment, that global security challenges will be addressed and global stability will be maximized.The Moldovan ExperienceThe Defense Education Enhancement Program in Moldova was initiated at the invitation of then-President Voronin to the NATO Secretary-General in April 2008, requesting assistance to gradually bring the curriculum [of the Military Institute] in line with Western standards, as one of their key Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) objectives. When Moldova gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the republic contained no residual military institute or educational infrastructure. The foundation for professional military education (PME) in the Republic of Moldova was based on the Soviet model, and the national leadership acknowledged that they needed to transition from this era. The Military Institute was created in 1992, and began with a two-year pre-commissioning course of instruction. In 1996 the curriculum expanded to a three-year program, and expanded to the current program in 2002, graduating the first four-year class in 2006. The curriculum is in accordance with the education law of Moldova and the 1999 Bologna Agreements as a Level I licensure and diploma (Bachelor's degree) granting institution.Responding to the request from President Voronin, NATO organized a multinational team of military professionals and educators to conduct an assessment visit in January 2009 to review the education and training capabilities of the Military Institute of the Moldovan Armed Forces. …

Biserica fortificată din Hosman, județul Sibiu

Abstract Hosman, in Saxon dialect - Hultsmänjen, Hultsmońen-and German-Holzmengen-belongs Nocrich common, Sibiu is located 8 km from Nocrich, 24 km from Sibiu and 36 Agnita city. In old documents the settlement is called when Holzmenia (1319) when Holzmengen (1479) names that could come from Holz = wood, charcoal = lots, is lots of wood. The fortress was built in the foothills and surrounding Romanesque church surrounded around the year 1270. At first it had three ships, an apse of the altar and belfry with five levels. Late Romanesque portal is similar to those in Avrig decoration, jerky, all influenced by the Cathedral of Alba Iulia site where German or Austrian master mason came. The church is surrounded by two walls cavities. Tower-gate, three levels high and protected by Hers is located in the northwest area where the walls meet the two chambers. Some masters or journeymen in Vienna who have not found work on site in Alba Iulia tried to earn money in the village and thus reached Hosman, where they built the great portal, modeled their home cathedral, St. Stephen in Vienna . Architectural style is Romanesque, Romanesque basilica with a western tower of the XIII century was amended according to the fifteenth century defense techniques. For it was demolished and constructed a lateral double surrounding wall. Gate tower still has the original sealing a grill falling.

Arms and Innovation: Entrepreneurship and Alliances in the Twenty-First Century Defense Industry (review)

Reviewed by: Arms and Innovation: Entrepreneurship and Alliances in the Twenty-First Century Defense Industry Byron K. Callan Arms and Innovation: Entrepreneurship and Alliances in the Twenty-First Century Defense Industry. By James Hasik. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-226-31886-8. Tables. Notes. Index. Pp. 189. $35.00. Small business firms have played an important role in the development of contemporary weapons systems and technologies. This is particularly true of sectors where there has been rapid technological change, such as the aircraft industry in the first part of the last century and more recently in defense information technologies. But even in seemingly mature markets, small firms can play critical roles engendering major military innovation. For example, Higgins Industries of New Orleans developed the Eureka workboat in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The Eureka was ideally suited for the bayous and swamps of Louisiana where it was initially used in logging operations. In 1939, Higgins received a contract from the Navy for an experimental landing craft based on the Eureka and subsequent designs were critical to the conduct and execution of U.S amphibious operations in the Second World War. [End Page 1028] James Hasik's Arms and Innovationhas a contemporary focus, but provides a useful framework for historians to consider the structure and evolution of defense industries, and the role of small enterprises in developing weapons and supporting products. Hasik uses six case studies of current or recent U.S. defense procurements to discuss the role of small firms in the arms industry. These vignettes on weapons such as the Predator unmanned air vehicle, the Joint Direct Attack Munition, and the Space-Based Infrared Sensor are used to illustrate why small firms succeeded, or were unsuccessful, in developing and producing defense products. The case studies are well chosen as they include commercial products adopted for military use, and purpose-built weapons and software products Hasik identifies three circumstances where small firms could be "relatively advantaged" over larger enterprises. The first is "innovative" markets that don't require capital-intensive research and development and for which the vector of technological change is uncertain. Another is in circumstances where a high degree of skill is needed but where ensuing production runs could be low. The third is where there are already large players but where there is room for smaller firms to prosper. He also discusses circumstances where small companies should consider an alliance with larger enterprises. The audiences Hasik directs his recommendations to are aspiring and current defense contractors both large and small and government procurement and policy personnel. Hasik does not believe that small firms hold all the keys to weapons innovation and indeed the purpose of his study of the Joint Direct Attack Munition is to highlight instances where a small firm was not as well equipped as a large one (in this case Boeing) to undertake high level serial production of a weapon. However, he believes "small firms have an important role to play in the cycles of military-industrial development…" There were some areas that Hasik could have been explored in greater detail. Little was said about how small firms were able to make their skills and products initially known to potential military customers. In some instances, the U.S. Congress has played a critical role in shepherding and protecting smaller firms and this could have been discussed, particularly in the instance of the Predator program. And inter-service rivalries can also help a smaller firm find willing new customers. Little was said about the funding and policy initiatives that could provide entrance points for smaller innovative firms in defense markets. However, Arms and Innovationdeserves a place in the library of anyone interested in military procurement and weapons development. For the historian, the framework Hasik used may be helpful in identifying the circumstances in earlier time periods that allowed smaller firms and enterprises to bring forth new military tools. [End Page 1029] Byron K. Callan Darien, Connecticut Copyright © 2009 The Society for Military History

Toward Reconciliation in Afghanistan

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes 1. Such trips can be very informative. They allow concentrated study, access to a wide range of officials, and the opportunity to speak candidly with many people, some of whom are known to the visitors, facilitating frank discussions. This approach provides a combination of hard data, qualitative information, unvarnished opinions of what is happening on the ground and opportunity for visitors to probe and question. 2. Jason H. Campbell and Jeremy Shapiro, Afghanistan Index: Tracking Variables of Reconstruction & Security in Post-9/11 Afghanistan (Washington D.C.: Brookings, December 16, 2008), http://www.brookings.edu/foreign-policy/~/media/Files/Programs/FP/afghanistan%20index/index.pdf. 3. Brookings Institution, “Afghanistan Index,” http://www.brookings.edu/foreign-policy/afghanistan-index.aspx. 4. Gun Control, “International Homicide Comparisons,” http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_gcgvinco.html. 5. Philip Gordon et al., “Memo to the President: Expand the Agenda in Pakistan and Afghanistan” (panel discussion, Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C., December 18, 2008), http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/events/2008/1218_transition/20081218_afghanistan_pakistan.pdf. Additional informationNotes on contributorsMichael O'HanlonMichael O'Hanlon is a senior fellow, senior author of the Iraq Index, research director of the 21st Century Defense Initiative at the Brookings Institution, and a visiting lecturer at Princeton

E-Government Capabilities for 21st Century Security and Defense

In this article we provide an overview of e-government as it pertains to national security and defense within the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS). We discuss the adoption of Web services and service-oriented architectures to aid in information sharing and reduction of IT costs. We also discuss the networks on which services and resources are being deployed and explain the efforts being made to manage the infrastructure of available services. This article provides an overview of e-government for national security and defense and provides insight to current initiatives and future directions.

Twenty First Century Defense Acquisition: Challenges and Opportunities

This article is the first in a series that will examine the complexities associated with defense acquisition decision-making in the twenty-first century. Budget constraints, political dynamics, cooperative alliances, and changing requirements pose particular— and often unique—challenges. This series of articles is intended to offer systemic “models” for effecting good acquisition decisions, provoke new ideas, and encourage dialogue across national borders on matters of defense acquisition. This first article examines the use of a formal acquisition strategy methodology as a means of reducing uncertainty in defense acquisition decision-making and selecting the best alternative toward achieving a capability.

Tolerancia, verdad y libertad de conciencia en el siglo XVIII

The 18th century defense of tolerance rests upon two lines of argument; lines that we can observe in thinkers such as Montesquieu and Rousseau, Diderot, Romilly and Voltaire. The first deconstructs the concept of absolute truth as it applies not only to the (orthodox) doctrine itself, as revealed by God, but also to the Catholic Church insofar as it is taken to be the only institution where truth resides uniquely. The second line of argument would run as follows: Once we acknowledge the rights of consciousness to every single religion, how can we possibly avoid a circular justification of intolerance? Romilly and Voltaire defend, without renouncing to the rights of consciousness (which are the base of individual liberties), the Lockean thesis of the separation Church-State. However, they assign to the State the ius circa sacra. It is only upon this foundation that the idea and the practice of tolerance, both religiously as well as universally and multiculturally speaking, can be constructed.