Military-industrial Research Articles

Сравнительный анализ военной помощи Украине со стороны Германии и Франции (2022–2024 гг.)

The article examines German and French strategies for military support of Kyiv starting from 2022. The analysis reveals two different models for military assistance, although gradually they became more similar. While France distributes money mainly by means of the European Peace Facility, Germany focuses more on bilateral support. Having not much military equipment in stock, Paris started delivering military equipment from the French army and later established a special fund to provide direct supplies to Ukraine. Berlin, at first, tended to avoid the delivery of heavy weapons, participation in “Ringtausch” and transfer of weapons from Bundeswehr stocks, but later bought more military equipment from German industry through state funds for security capacity building. Since 2024, both countries have been involved in capability coalitions for military support of Ukraine. France and Germany went through three stages of their policies: 1) restricted deliveries of European weapons to Ukraine (spring 2022); 2) a gradual increase in EU military supplies from stock, and the launch of production (second half of 2022 – early 2023); 3) increase of the military industry capacity (2023–2024). Both countries stimulate each other to support Ukraine, but their volumes of supplies and types of weapons do not always coincide. Both countries have to increase their military capacities to fulfill commitments for Ukraine, especially the production of the SAM system IRIS-T SLM and self-propelled howitzer CAESAR as well as the launch of new facilities for artillery shells. The authors conclude that Paris and Berlin have no joint projects and agreements for joint procurement. Thus, unlike other crises, the current conflict makes France and Germany act in parallel, but not together.

Numerical study of impact energy absorption of auxetic structure

3D printing technologies have helped researchers fabricate cellular structures and have lightweight and desirable mechanical properties. One such structure is called “auxetic” structures. “Auxetics” is the term used for structures that exhibit a negative Poisson’s ratio (NPR) and offer a wide range of wide range of potential applications in automotive, aerospace and military industries due to their great load-bearing capabilities in association with excellent energy dissipating performance. PLA (Poly Lactic Acid) material is used to 3D print eight different unit cell design. For each unit cell design with three different core thickness of 1.00 mm, 1.50 mm and 2.00 subjected to projectile impact with 10J of kinetic energy were studied by means of explicit nonlinear finite element simulations using LS-DYNA. Studies were carried out. The energy absorbed by the sample, contact force and projectile kinetic energy time history are compared and the damage on each sample is also compared. It was found that the Chiral unit cell absorbs the max energy and have less damage compared to other unit cell design.

The strength of the intergovernmental principle in the common security and defence policy and the weakness of the eu’s strategic autonomy ambitions in the context of the ukrainian crisis

Since the beginning of Russia?s open military attack on Ukraine in February 2022, the European Union has introduced thirteen new packages of economic sanctions against Russia. Moreover, in addition to direct economic aid to Kyiv, Brussels and a number of member states have pursued a policy of sending military aid in various forms, mostly in accordance with their own assessments of security interests and available capabilities. The EU established a military assistance mission (EUMAM Ukraine) and began to use part of the existing programs, such as the European Peace Facility, for the purpose of equipping the Ukrainian army. In addition, the perception of Russia as a longterm threat is increasingly influencing new plans in the field of military industry and future armaments. In this paper, we want to analyse the cooperation of these steps taken by the EU and which member states take independently or (and) in cooperation through NATO as the dominant military alliance on European soil. Our argument is that the practice of this military crisis shows that member states to a negligible extent tend to use the Common Security and Defense Policy as a framework for their actions, to strengthen and build it in the long term, but tend to use either the bilateral ties - towards Ukraine and among each other, or the existing framework of NATO. This argumentation confirms the postulates of the new intergovernmentalism in the study of CSDP. In political practice, the intergovernmental principle remains dominant in the CSDP domain, and shows that the current practice is not effectively aimed at strengthening the CSDP nor does it provide a new synergistic effect, and that relatively, in the broader balance of power, the EU loses compared to the existing ties within the NATO pact and new flexible forms of bilateral and multilateral cooperation of its member states, outside the CSDP.

Military Industrial Complex and National Security in Nigeria, 2015 – 2022

The ability to wage and win a war or to deter potential adversaries depends on the degree of technological wealth in the country, which should be seen to be adequately developed and functional. Therefore, the success of modern day military forces is measured by their ability to develop and use unique technologies to effectively confront unique security challenges this entails the importance of military industries and technological development to the national security of any country. This study, therefore, sets out to discuss the relevance of Military Industrial Complex (MIC) in relation to the national security in Nigeria between 2015 and 2022. This study adopts the use of secondary source as its methodology, which will be accessed through published works, journal articles, internet sources and other secondary source materials. Some of the findings of this study are as follows; 1) Military Industrial Complex (MIC) began to be firmly established after the WW II. 2) a country’s maintenance of a good national security is not unconnected with its ability to produce and develop a high level of local military arms and ammunitions through its MIC. 3) Nigeria’s overdependence in arms and ammunitions’ importation is affecting both her national security and economy. 4) between 2015 and 2022, Nigeria has spent more money importing military hardware. 5) the MIC in Nigeria is lagging behind other MICs even in some Third World countries like Brazil, India and South Africa, hence the need for its rehabilitation, upgrade and reinvestment. The study concludes that for Nigeria’s national security and economy to be better, the government ought to invest more in the development of a viable and strong MIC to drastically reduce her high dependence on foreign countries for her national security. Keywords: MIC, National Security, Nigeria, Technological Development, Third World Countries

Characteristics of Carbon and Kevlar Fibres, Their Composites and Structural Applications in Civil Engineering-A Review.

Kevlar and carbon fibres and fabrics have won a leading place in the structure market, although such materials are not cheap, and are increasingly used for reinforcing and strengthening structural elements in the civil engineering, automotive, aerospace and military industries, due to their superior mechanical properties, especially in terms of strength. The mechanical characteristics of such composite materials must be known in order to numerically simulate the mechanical behaviour of such structures in terms of the distribution of stresses and strains. It has also become a necessity to understand the effects of reinforcement with both types of fibres (carbon fibres and Kevlar fibres) on the mechanical properties, especially on the impact properties of such composites. This review aims to expose the main advantages and disadvantages of the hybridization of carbon and Kevlar fibres. For this reason, an overview is presented concerning the main characteristics (tensile strength, flexural strength, impact strength, coefficient of thermal expansion and so on) for carbon and Kevlar fibres and also for hybrid Kevlar-carbon composite materials to aid in the design of such hybrid composite materials. Finally, some civil construction rehabilitation and consolidation applications of the composites reinforced with carbon fibre, Kevlar fibre or with hybrid Kevlar-carbon fabrics are highlighted in the last part of the paper.

Industrial potential of the Kazakh SSR during the Great Patriotic War (1941–1945)

The aim of the article is to analyze the activities of various industries of the Kazakh SSR during the Great Patriotic War, aimed at providing raw materials to enterprises of the military-industrial complex and their own production aimed at improving the defense capabilities of the Soviet state. The relevance of the study was determined by the need to identify trends in the development of industry in the Kazakh Republic during the Patriotic War. The source base of the work was the works of Soviet, Russian and Kazakh authors, information from the Archive of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan dedicated to the history of the Great Patriotic War. The peculiarities of technological production aimed at increasing labour efficiency in the coal, non-ferrous, oil, chemical and energy industries of the republic are given. The growth trends of the indicators of these industries are revealed. The main ones are: increase of raw materials extraction at Karaganda coal basin, construction of auxiliary industrial enterprises, such as brick, cement works, explosive materials plant, woodworking plant, etc. In non-ferrous metallurgy, growth of non-ferrous metal output during the war years increased manifold compared to the pre-war periods. In oil industry – growth of high-quality oil production in Western Kazakhstan. In the chemical industry – increase of the list of products through construction of new shops and workshops of the operating enterprises of the chemical industry of the republic. In the energy sphere – construction of new power stations from regional to industrial levels. It is concluded that the identified trends in industrial development in Kazakhstan during the Great Patriotic War were a definite contribution to the improvement of the defensive capability of the USSR and in its victory over Germany.

Secondary High-Temperature Treatment of Porous Carbons for High-Performance Supercapacitors

Supercapacitors are extensively used in urban rail transit, electric vehicles, renewable energy storage, electronic products, and the military industry due to its long cycle life and high power density. Porous carbon materials are regarded as promising anode materials for supercapacitors due to their high specific surface areas and well-developed pore structures. However, the over-developed pore structure often results in poor conductivity and reduced cycle stability due to the destruction of a carbon skeleton. Herein, we introduce an advanced strategy for preparing porous carbon with high specific surface areas (3333 m2 g−1), high electrical conductivity (68.6 S m−1), and fast ion transport channels through secondary high-temperature carbonization treatment. As a result, the fabricated porous carbon anode delivers a high specific capacitance (199.2 F g−1 at 1 A g−1) and outstanding rate performance (136.3 F g−1 at 20 A g−1) in organic electrolyte. Furthermore, the assembled symmetrical supercapacitor achieves an energy density of 43.2 Wh kg−1 at 625.0 W kg−1, highlighting the potential of a secondary high-temperature carbonization strategy in practical applications.

The Main Types of State Support for Organizations of the Military-industrial Complex

The article substantiates the need for the development and modernization of state support forms for the military-industrial complex enterprises due to the growing sanctions pressure. Such tasks as the analysis and grouping of state support forms, which are established by regulatory legal acts and implemented by specially created organizations, were carried out. The results of the analysis showed that, as before, the main direction of support for the defense industry enterprises is the financial one. In order to increase the effectiveness of this direction, the authors propose strengthening control over the targeted use of allocated funds. However, in order to make a breakthrough in the field of military industry and securing the technological sovereignty of the country, much more attention should be paid to information support and control over the strengthening of connections between defense industry enterprises and leading research institutes or industrial enterprises. The authors propose to enhance efforts to improve the qualifications of enterprise personnel and provide recommendations for improving the development directions of economic relations between military-industrial enterprises and other industries.

Contribution of Public Scientific and Technical Associations to Development of Mass Inventiveness in USSR from Mid-1950s to Mid-1960s

The article examines the role of public scientific and technical associations in the implementation of the Soviet Union’s science and technology policy aimed at stimulating inventive activity and expediting the introduction of new technology into production. Considering mass invention and rationalization as a crucial resource for ensuring the country’s competitiveness, especially in industries not related to the defense-industrial complex, the state essentially fully administered the activities of scientific and technical societies. The evolution of the mass invention management system is demonstrated. Organizational and economic mechanisms aimed at stimulating innovative activity are analyzed, revealing the most effective and indemand practices. It is noted that public associations had high potential for solving scientific and technical tasks, possessing a large number of qualified personnel, an extensive network of primary organizations, and a centralized management apparatus. However, administrative pressure, the imposition of ideological directives not inherent to scientific and technical societies, the creation of numerous associations with duplicative functions, and the pursuit of increasing quantitative indicators constrained the possibilities of scientific and technical societies, ultimately leading to formalism in the work of public associations.

Assessment of the Level, Direction and Factors of Structural Changes in the Irkutsk Region Industry

It is known that the structure of industrial production in Russia was formed under the influence of many factors that caused its raw materials specialization and accelerated development of the military-industrial complex. Since the realization of the need for structural transformations (the beginning of the 90s), authorities, associations of industrialists and the scientific community have offered various options for actions aimed at mitigating (eliminating) accumulated and continuing to intensify structural deformations, some measures (programs) have been implemented in whole or in part. In addition, the modern actualization of import substitution processes should also have a significant impact on the structure of the economy and industry, in particular. As a result, there is a need to assess the direction and intensity of structural changes in industrial production over the period 1991–2023, as a result of which it is possible to judge the degree of impact and effectiveness of implemented measures, including in the field of import substitution, on the structure of industry. In the article, this assessment is carried out on the example of the Irkutsk region. According to calculations, the conclusion is made about the preservation and deepening of the raw materials specialization of the industry of the Irkutsk region, despite the measures taken. The key factor was the implementation of major investment projects in the field of oil and gas production, as well as their transportation, which led to a significant increase in the share of extractive industries. At the same time, there is a point-by-point growth in some manufacturing industries, including high-tech ones, which does not affect the structural dynamics as a whole, but proves the effectiveness of the measures taken in the field of import substitution and the development of manufacturing industries.

National Center of Physics and Mathematics – a new form of organization of science

The article deals with the problem of activating fundamental scientific activity in the Russian Federation by combining the efforts of various scientific institutes – institutions of the Academy of Sciences, universities, industry and corporate science within the framework of the National Center for Physics and Mathematics (NCPM). The purpose of the article is to identify institutional features and substantiate promising organizational tasks of the NCFM, the main research methods are institutional, normative, comparative analysis. Institutionally, the NCPM will make it possible to get away from the existing division of science along departmental lines and related problems. It is proved that the use of the organizational “CERN model” in the NCPM will be able to attract a wide range of scientists from various Russian and, in the future, foreign organizations, will help the formation of a collaboration for conducting experiments and research at scientific installations of the “megasience” class. This will make it possible to form and work out a national model of the mobility of scientists. The territorial and personnel aspects of the NCFM are considered, measures are proposed to expand the types of activities, to activate the influx of students and postgraduates for subsequent work in scientific and knowledge-intensive industrial organizations, to reflect the peculiarities of the development of the territory of the NCFM location in strategic documents of various levels. Conclusions are drawn about the positive impact of the activities of the NCPM on socio-economic processes; about new opportunities for diversification of the military-industrial complex associated with the development of fundamental science; about accelerating the formation of a system of technological transfer; contributing to the organization of the system of strategic planning and scientific and technical forecasting in the country

High-performance flexible reduced graphene oxide/polyimide nanocomposite aerogels fabricated by double crosslinking strategy for piezoresistive sensor application

Flexible conductive polyimide aerogels used for piezoresistive pressure sensors in harsh environments are often limited by brittleness, structural collapse, low elastic recovery, low sensitivity, and narrow pressure detection range. Herein, we report a simple and green method of ice-templating unidirectional solidification combined with freeze-drying and thermal imidization to obtain a flexible reduced graphene oxide/polyimide (rGO/PI) nanocomposite aerogels with a double crosslinked structure, which achieve a significant transformation of PI aerogels from brittleness to high flexibility. The strong layered structure and dense interlaminar porous network are established by the covalent crosslinking of 1,3,5-triaminophenoxybenzene (TAB) and the hydrogen bonding crosslinking of graphene oxide (GO), imparting the double crosslinked rGO/PI aerogels with unique “porous honeycomb” structure and excellent mechanical properties. Due to the synergistic effect of TAB, rGO, PI, and unidirectional freezing process, the double crosslinked rGO/PI nanocomposite aerogel shows low density (25 mg/cm3), high compression cycle stability (3000 cycles), wide pressure detection range (0–85.1 kPa), extremely short response time (about 129 ms) and excellent environmental resistance (maintaining high structural stability and pressure response even at high temperatures of 180 °C and low temperatures of −50 °C), suitable for detecting various motion signals. It is proved that the elastic double crosslinked rGO/PI nanocomposite aerogels have potential applications serving as candidate materials for piezoresistive sensors and wearable electronic protective equipment in the fields of national defense, military industry, aerospace, and other fields in extreme environments.

Computer vision: AI imaginaries and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

This paper explores the way in which computer scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) constructed visions of the future in 1960s America to direct the AI and computing research agendas. It argues that MIT computer scientists resisted attempts by the state to control the future of computing by fabricating imaginaries to covertly exert influence over the research environment. The paper examines the impact of the Cold War military–industrial complex on academia, which provided opportunities for research to take place whilst introducing challenges to autonomy. It makes the case that computer scientists such as Marvin Minsky and Fernando J. Corbato carefully shaped narratives across film, television and the media to promote desirable futures centering their own technical approaches. Acknowledging that instruments of the state appealed to the future to guide research towards strategically sensitive areas in the context of Cold War technoscientific contest, it asserts that intensifying ties between military and academic institutions afforded researchers both the latitude and motivation to construct independent visions of the future. In doing so, the paper aims to complicate assumptions about imaginaries as solely tools of governance by highlighting scientists' creativity in navigating institutional constraints to wrest back control of the future.

US military-industrial complex under the influence of the ukrainian conflict

This study is devoted to the study of the state of the military-industrial complex under the influence of the Ukrainian conflict, problems and prospects of development. The work is relevant due to the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine and the use of American weapons by the Armed Forces of Ukraine against Russian units during a special military operation. The article investigates such issues of the military-industrial complex as the gap between the civilian and military industries of the United States, the dependence of the American defense industry on foreign manufacturers and developers, the lack of complete chains of weapons creation and the unsuitability of American models for high-intensity conflict. The study particularly considers the relationship between civil and military production and the importance of a developed industry for the military-industrial complex. The paper focuses on the ideology of the creation and production of products of the American defense industry and their inconsistency with the conditions of a high-intensity conflict. The work emphasizes the need for serious financial injections and socio-economic reforms in any possible scenario for the development of the US military-industrial complex.

The U.S. military-industrial complex as a factor in maintaining its dominant global position

The article identifies considerable structural problems in the U.S. military-industrial complex, including production concentration, inefficiency of the government - defense contractor model and the associated financial losses to the federal budget, fragile production chains, and personnel shortages. Excessive defense spending, which is attributed to external threats, diverts attention from important domestic political subjects, such as social issues. The over-consolidation of production in the hands of the Pentagon's top 5 major defense contractors negatively affects the defense industry and reduces U.S. national security capabilities, undermining the United States' ability to maintain its dominant position in the world.

Armed forces and military-industrial complex of India in the era of global turbulence

The article is devoted to the problems of modernization of the armed forces of India and its military-industrial complex. Analyzing the ties between the military-industrial complex and the armed forces of India, the author concludes that the size of the Indian armed forces, coupled with the system of their recruitment, hinders the process of modernization. At the same time, the Indian leadership cannot agree to a reduction in the army, both for political and social and for military-strategic reasons, relying on limited reforms designed to change the process of recruiting.

Turkey - The West: exemplary antagonism?

The article examines the Western direction of Turkey's foreign policy and its relations with its three key actors: the United States, NATO and the EU. By its centenary, which Turkey is celebrating on 29th of October, 2023, Ankara seeks to approach the status of an independent supra-regional power. For a long time, Turkey has served as a "junior ally" of Washington, but in the era of the polycentricity’s construction, it has significantly changed its foreign policy priorities. Relations with the United States have moved from an "exemplary partnership" to the rank of an exemplary antagonism and the path to "united Europe" has turned out to be more problematic and not profitable for Ankara from the point of view of its national interests. The NATO bloc has lost its primary importance due to Turkey's development of its own military-industrial complex and growing contradictions with existing and potential members of the alliance. Nevertheless, the West still has a great influence on economic and other related fields affecting the well-being of Ankara. In this regard, building constructive relations with the West remains one of the tasks of Turkey's foreign policy. The authors conclude that under current circumstances the complete political sovereignty of Ankara and its separation from the West can only occur within the framework of the "independence through dependence" model since Turkey due to the lack of its own resources for crisis-free existence will need the support of other stronger world players, such as Russia and, for example, China.

Export of the South Korea’s defense: problems and prospects

The Republic of Korea aims to become one of the key players in the global arms market by 2027. The military conflict in Ukraine allowed South Korea not only to increase the supply of military products to NATO countries, but also win additional market share in the East Asian, taking advantage of the decline in Russian military exports. At the same time, South Korea is actively signing contracts for the supply of military equipment with the countries of the Middle East. The growth in exports of South Korean military-industrial products is due to the fact that currently the ROK’s weapons have a number of competitive advantages for buyers in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. First of all, South Korean weapons are compatible with American systems. However, the cost of equipment from the Republic of Korea is sometimes several times lower than military-industrial complex products from the United States or Eurozone countries. However, despite the bright plans in the medium term, the Republic of Korea may face several challenges including inevitable competition with defense industry leaders such as the USA, Russia, Germany, France and the potential worsening of relations with China due to the active increase in arms supplies to India and Vietnam, that could limit the rapid growth of exports of the South Korean military-industrial complex.

The Mechanism of Deformation Compatibility of TA2/Q345 Laminated Metal in Dynamic Testing with Split-Hopkinson Pressure Bar.

The laminated metal materials are widely used in military, automobile and aerospace industries, but their dynamic response mechanical behavior needs to be further clarified, especially for materials with joint interface paralleling to the loading direction. The mechanical properties of TA2/Q345 (Titanium/Steel) laminated metal of this structure were studied by using the split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB). To shed light on the stress-state of a laminated metal with parallel structure, the relative non-uniformity of internal stress R(t) was analyzed. The mechanism of deformation compatibility of welding interface was discussed in detail. The current experiments demonstrate that in the strain rate range of 931-2250 s-1, the discrepancies of the internal stress in specimens are less than 5%, so the stress-state equilibrium hypothesis is satisfied during the effective loading time. Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that all stress-strain responses of the material are valid and reliable. Furthermore, the four deformation stages, i.e., the elastic stage, the plastic modulus compatible deformation stage, uniform plastic deformation stage and non-uniform plastic deformation stage, of the laminated metal with parallel structure were firstly proposed under the modulating action of the welding interface. The deformation stages are helpful for better utilization of laminated materials.

ИМПОРТОЗАМЕЩЕНИЕ СОЖ ДЛЯ ПРОЦЕССОВ МЕТАЛЛООБРАБОТКИ НА МАШИНОСТРОИТЕЛЬНЫХ ПРЕДПРИЯТИЯХ

A method is proposed to give a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of liquid coolants (LC), including tribo-engineering, physicochemical and cooling properties. The results of introducing LCs at military-industrial enterprises are presented. The work results on the import substitution of LCs at military-industrial enterprises are shown. The results of comparative tests of imported lubricants in comparison with domestic coolant Rosoil are presented. It is shown that Rosoil LC is not worse than imported analogues in terms of basic operational characteristics.