Military Equipment Research Articles

IDENTIFICATION OF THE MODEL OF THE VST FAILURE FLOW PARAMETER UNDER SINGLE-MODE HOLDING

Operation of a sample of weapons and military equipment is a set of measures that includes intended use, maintenance, repair, transportation and storage. All these components of the life cycle have their own dynamic indicators, because they are in dynamic systems. Experimental search for the best conditions for keeping weapons and military equipment samples is financially burdensome and time-consuming, and sometimes not always appropriate. The dynamic systems of operation of some samples have certain limitations in terms of the occurrence of destruction, breakdowns or even explosions. The effectiveness of the use of any type of weapon is directly dependent on the conditions of keeping the sample before use. Failures that are possible in the process of detention are precisely of a probabilistic nature in the process of detention, before the start of application, which is extremely unacceptable considering the subject of weapons and military equipment. Single-mode maintenance of equipment is a component of the operation system of the weapons and military equipment sample. Technical condition failures are factors that directly affect the effectiveness of the use of equipment and weapons for their intended purpose, and are key factors influencing survivability. To carry out simulation modeling, it is necessary to identify the parameters of failure flows, which will have different manifestations depending on the conditions of detention and different manifestations depending on the type and type of weapons and military equipment. When modeling the processes of weapons and military equipment retention states, it is necessary to consider as many available methods as possible, weeding out those that have deviations from the indicators of the expected result, which at the final stage may affect the false indicators of the effectiveness of survivability maintenance measures. In this article, the analysis of the content of weapons and military equipment is carried out, considering the algorithm of the method of maximum compactness of the median model (MMCMM-identification), in addition, the analysis of structural and parametric identifications of the model of the parameter of the failure flow according to operational data is carried out. Comparison of the Maximum Compactness Method (MCM) and the Least Squares Method (LSM). Keywords: containment conditions, failure flow parameters, life cycle, survivability, influencing factors, failures, maintenance, technical condition, recovery, simulation modeling, model identification, maximum compactness method.

ВИЗНАЧЕННЯ ЗАЛЕЖНОСТІ ВТРАТ ОСОБОВОГО СКЛАДУ РЕМОНТНО-ВІДНОВЛЮВАЛЬНИХ ПІДРОЗДІЛІВ НА ЗБІРНОМУ ПУНКТІ ПОШКОДЖЕНИХ МАШИН

For the timely and high-quality restoration of weapons and military equipment that received combat or operational damage during the conduct of hostilities (operations), military command and control bodies carry out technical support planning measures during which one of the stages is to determine the capabilities of repair and restoration units (military units) . The experience of conducting combat operations during the anti-terrorist operation and the operation of the joint forces on the territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions indicates inaccuracies in the mathematical dependencies for determining the capabilities of repair and restoration units to carry out repair work during the planning of technical support. These mathematical dependencies do not take into account the losses of repairmen in the absence of a proper camouflage pattern for weapons and military equipment. The disguise of technical support units and subunits consists in the elimination or weakening of unmasking signs that reveal the purpose and nature of the tasks they perform. Therefore, the purpose of the article is to determine the dependence of the average daily losses of repair specialists on the organization of masking the assembly point of damaged vehicles. For more accurate calculations, the article takes into account the determination of the rational parameters of the horizontal mask, deformable pixel coverage of equipment, as well as the mathematical dependence of determining the production capabilities of repair and restoration units for the repair of damaged weapons and military equipment, taking into account the average daily sanitary, permanent and psychogenic losses of personnel. Keywords: horizontal camouflage net, pixelated coverage of equipment, repair and restoration units (parts), repair, specialists, losses

INTRODUCTION OF THE «PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE» CONCEPT TO INCREASE RELIABILITY AND PREDICTABILITY OF REPAIRS

This research article discusses the importance of implementing the Predictive Maintenance concept in the context of rocket and artillery weapons to improve the reliability and predictability of repair work. The article discusses key aspects of this concept, including its basic principles and methods, including the use of data analytics and artificial intelligence. The authors analyze the benefits of Predictive Maintenance in the military context, pointing to reduced repair costs, increased availability of military equipment, and extended equipment life. In addition, the article examines the challenges that arise when implementing this concept and provides recommendations on how to overcome them. Modern military equipment requires a high level of reliability and combat readiness. The introduction of the Predictive Maintenance concept is becoming extremely important to ensure the efficiency and safety of military equipment. This research article is devoted to the study and discussion of the possibilities of implementing Predictive Maintenance in the context of rocket and artillery weapons in order to increase the reliability and predictability of repair work. In conclusion, the article emphasizes the importance of implementing Predictive Maintenance as a strategic tool to ensure optimal performance and readiness of missile and artillery weapons in the modern military environment. Keywords: Implementation, concept, Predictive Maintenance, reliability, predictability, repair work, data analytics, artificial intelligence, monitoring systems, machine learning algorithms, sensors, failure prediction, planning, efficiency, readiness, rocket and artillery weapons.

MODERN METHODS OF MANUFACTURING SYNTHETIC RUBBER USED FOR THE PRODUCTION OF RUBBER PRODUCTS FOR WEAPONS AND MILITARY EQUIPMENT

The material of the tire in contact with the road and areas adjacent to it is subject to bending, compression, shear and stretching. Efforts change both in magnitude and direction. In the process of operation, the tire material is constantly exposed to oxygen, air and sunlight, contact with petroleum products and other materials that have a destructive effect. Taking into account the conditions of operation and work for automobile tires and rubber products used in the OSVT of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the following requirements are imposed:  to be elastic and soften the shocks perceived by the wheel from the road, which reduces the load on the car parts and the road, increases the comfort of the ride and the safety of the transported goods;  to ensure the safety of car movement, including at high speeds;  have the necessary strength and wear resistance, which ensure a long service life;  be inexpensive and do not require scarce raw materials for production;  to ensure high passability, longitudinal and lateral stability of the car;  work reliably in different temperature regimes of the environment;  do not make significant noise while driving the car;  ensure reliable fastening on the wheel rim, convenience and ease of installation and disassembly operations from it; do not damage the road covering; The use of automobile tires with the specified properties will provide an opportunity for high-quality performance of combat and logistical tasks. During hostilities, the wear and tear of automobile tires and other rubber products used on automobiles and special military equipment significantly increases. The main type of tire damage in during the fightiny is rolling on paved roads with energy expenditure on internal friction during overloading of the tire material (hysteresis, which leads to its heating and reduced mechanical strength), the influence of external factors, intensity, etc. An urgent problem in the Armed Forces is the ut lisation of used and damaged car tires, taking into account the conduct of various combat operations. The development of methods of utilization and recycling of tires will provide an opportunity to solve logistical and environmental problems. Keywords: fuels and lubricants, technical fluids, automobile tires, rubber, polymers, armament military and special equipment.

TRANSFORMATION OF SIGNALS GENERATED BY FIBER OPTICS SENSORS IN THE WARNING SYSTEMS OF FIRE DAMAGE

An actual problem today is the improvement of a mobile optical reconnaissance system designed to detect snipers, observers, artillery correctors, including camouflaged ones equipped with optical sights. With the help of optical surveillance devices, it is possible to detect and estimate the distance to them, the principle of operation of which is based on the use of the physical effect of light reflection, which consists in the ability of optical systems to reflect probing radiation in the reverse direction at an angle close to the angle of its incidence, that is, illumination by a laser and capture of the reflected image, as well as the processing of this signal. The study of the processes of the propagation of laser radiation in the atmosphere (including in a turbulent environment) is given considerable attention in connection with the wide application of lasers in systems operating through the atmosphere. Indeed, the accuracy of laser devices of a wide range of applications (geodetic, in weapons systems and military equipment, portable, mounted in the system of combat equipment of a serviceman performing special tasks, etc.), spatial and temporal separation of laser locators, the possibility and accuracy of determining environmental parameters by remote laser methods can be estimated only taking into account the fluctuations of the field of optical beams. Keywords: combat tasks, optical reconnaissance, sniper, conical diffraction, diffraction grating, signal element, laser, sensor.

THE EQUATION OF THE NON-STATIONARY THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY PROBLEM OF THE THERMOMETRICAL DEVICE CONSTRUCTIVE ELEMENT OF WEAPON SYSTEMS AND MILITARY EQUIPMENT

Means of contact thermometry are widely used in various complexes of devices of weapons systems and military equipment. Such means basically involve the use of mechanical contact, in particular, bimetallic temperature transmitters, which are the most widely used thermometer variants in practice. To ensure the proper level of metrological and operational characteristics of bimetallic thermometers, reliable and adequate methods of calculating thermodynamic parameters (distributions of temperature, deformations, stresses caused by force and temperature loads) of the bimetallic package are necessary. The presented work describes an approach to the calculation of non-stationary temperature distribution in a solid-state element of a complex shape, which simulates the operation of a bimetallic thermometer sensor using the contact method. The calculated dependences obtained are the basis for modeling bimetallic thermometers of various structural forms and standard sizes. In order to constructively improve the thermometric system, it is proposed to make bimetallic plates non-one-pieces, but with additional structural inclusions, in the presence of which the temperature distribution and, accordingly, the stress state will approach to uniaxial one. Keywords: differential equations, integration constants, displays of primary heat exchangers, calculation dependencies, information transfer, metrological, operational characteristics, temperature, density, thermal conductivity of the medium.

EQUIPPING THE RANGE WITH EDUCATIONAL AND TRAINING TOOLS FOR THE TRAINING OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT OPERATORS

It is substantiated that the loss of a control signal or a GPS navigation signal led more often to the loss of an unmanned aerial vehicle (drone). Therefore, when training drone operators, it is suggested to simulate the situation of loss of GPS navigation control signals. At the same time, the use of the Wi-Fi FPV video information transmission channel is proposed. The purpose of the study is to substantiate the proposals for technical equipping of the test site with educational and training facilities for the training of operators of unmanned aerial vehicles. Advantages and disadvantages of drone control systems with the help of an operator (using streaming video in real time) and GPS navigation equipment are considered. It is shown that computer technologies are the basis of educational and training tools and systems of a modern training ground, which make it possible to significantly increase the effectiveness of combat training of both an individual soldier and the coherence of the actions of entire units. With their help, on the basis of appropriate mathematical procedures, the environment is simulated with fairly high accuracy and a realistic picture of combat operations is reproduced. Further integration of modern software products into training equipment allows to expand their functional capabilities in the direction of increasing the quality characteristics of training while simultaneously minimizing material, resource and time costs. This will make it possible to combine separate types of weapons and military equipment, simulators of control devices, into a single training and modeling system for tactical personnel training in a single training complex. Keywords: abstract virtual models, algorithms, combat training, reproduction of environmental conditions, information processing tools, computer and information technologies, mathematical procedures, educational and training tools, tactical and technical requirements, artificial intelligence, machine learning, programs.

КОНСЕРВАЦИОННЫЕ И РАБОЧЕ-КОНСЕРВАЦИОННЫЕ СМАЗОЧНЫЕ МАТЕРИАЛЫ «РОСОЙЛ»

The paper contains an overview of Rosoil rust-preventive, protective and operating lubricants for metallurgy, mechanical engineering and other industries, including for military-industrial enterprises, as well as for the needs of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the population. The main physicochemical and operational characteristics of rust-preventive, protective and operating lubricants are given such as rust-preventive greases for corrosion protection of ferrous and non-ferrous metal products during storage and transportation; protective grease lubricants for anticorrosive and mechanical processing of metals; protective antifriction greases for lubrication when manufacturing and operationing steel ropes made of uncoated wire and galvanized wire; universal lubricants for multi-purpose applications; corrosion-preventing oil for protection of military equipment; gun oils for cleaning, lubrication and corrosion protection of artillery and small arms during storage and operation; corrosion inhibitors to improve the protective properties of lubricating oils for various purposes and fuels. It is shown that the range of Rosoil rust-preventive, protective and operating lubricants contains 19 products, most of which are designed to replace imported materials and surpass them in protective properties and tribo-engineering characteristics.

Highly loaded carbon fiber filaments for 3D‐printed composites

AbstractComposites play progressively significant roles across a spectrum of applications involving high‐performance materials and products within industries such as aerospace, naval, automotive, construction, missiles, and defense technology. Notably, oriented fiber composites have garnered substantial attention due to their advantageous attributes like a high strength‐to‐weight ratio and controlled anisotropy. Nonetheless, challenges persist in uneven fiber alignment, fiber clustering within the matrix material, and constraints on fiber volume, impeding the mass production of oriented fiber‐reinforced composites. In this study, we present a novel approach to 3D printing of uniformly aligned short fiber reinforcement in a composite of heavily loaded carbon and nylon. Capitalizing on the additive manufacturing potential of rapidity and precision, the extrusion process induces carbon fiber (CF) alignments in filaments via shear forces. The 3D‐printed structures that were created displayed impressive potential for customization. They consistently demonstrated improved mechanical and thermal properties when compared to the original nylon structures. Our methodology for producing uniformly dispersed and aligned short fiber reinforcement in polymer composites promises to propel the advancement of design and manufacturing for high‐performance composite materials and components.

Forensic Applications of Geophysical and Geochemical Methods

Classic forensic investigations are sometimes insufficient to collect all of the potential evidence from a crime-scene, especially if conducted a long-time after, particularly when there are limitations in accessing the site and performing the fieldwork. The described limitations are particularly pronounced in the investigation of war crimes or location of war legacy (unexploded ordnance, buried weapons, mass graves and other potential war-crimes). This paper presents some of the geophysical and geochemical methods and techniques that have been used around the world - the Balkans, the Middle East and the Ukraine, especially in locating secondary and tertiary mass graves and residual military materiel. The described methods include the use of remote sensing methods via airborne or satellite sensors that indicate certain changes on the ground, the use of ground penetrating radar systems, electromagnetic methods, sensors for detecting residual radiation, and geochemical methods of water and soil sampling to collect evidence or locate zones of potential interest. The presented methods outline descriptive alterations in the soil mineralogy, electrical conductivity, occurrences of voids or discontinuities in the ground-penetrating radar data and unusual concentrations of metals or organic substances in water or soil as potential indicators of mass war-crimes or other war legacy.

A new denoising method based on decomposition mixing of hydro-acoustic signal

Hydro-acoustic signal (HAS) contains abundant information. HAS denoising is of great significance for accurate identification of underwater targets, research of military detection equipment and monitoring of ocean ecological environment, and has good civil value and military application value. Because of complex characteristic of ocean circumstance and the temporal change characteristic of hydro-acoustic channel, HAS denoising faces great challenges. To denoise HAS effectively, a new denoising method based on improved variational mode decomposition by jumping spider optimization algorithm (JVMD), weighted fractional order slope entropy (WFrSlEn), dynamic adjacent threshold of correlation coefficient (DATC), improved one dimension (1-D) Gaussian-Laplacian smoothing (IGLS) and adaptive interval correlation wavelet transform (AICWT), named JVMD-WFrSlEn-DATC-IGLS-AICWT, is proposed. JVMD is proposed for the problem that the number of decomposition layer K and penalty factor α cannot be selected adaptively in variational mode decomposition (VMD). WFrSlEn is proposed for the problem that decomposition components are difficult to divide precisely. DATC is proposed for the problem that threshold of correlation coefficient (CC) is selected. IGLS is proposed to preserve more signal details. AICWT is proposed to solve the problem that wavelet transform cannot automatically select appropriate parameters. Firstly, the original signal is decomposed to many intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) with JVMD. Secondly, WFrSlEn and DATC distinguish pure IMFs, mixed IMFs and noisy IMFs. IGLS is performed on mixed IMFs and AICWT is performed on noisy IMFs. Finally, two processed IMFs are reconstructed with pure IMFs to obtain final denoised signal. The results show that the proposed denoising method can improve signal-to-noise ratio by 8∼10 dB for chaotic signal, make phase diagram clearer and smoother, and can effectively suppress noise for HAS.

ДОСВІД ІЗРАЇЛЮ З РОЗВИТКУ ІННОВАЦІЙ ТА ТУРИЗМУ В УМОВАХ ВОЄННИХ ДІЙ

The experience of Israel in the development of innovations and tourism in the conditions of military operations is considered. The indicators of the innovative activity of the country according to various global ratings are analyzed. The factors that contribute to the successful formation of Israel's innovation ecosystem, which integrates education, science, business and the state, are identified. Considered successful cases of innovative activity of the defence complex of Israel, which today is the main employer of the country and the sphere of attraction of investments. Attention is drawn to the system of assimilation, the transfer of advanced developments carried out by order of the military department to the civilian sphere, the involvement of teams of researchers and developers to develop products for non-military markets and, more often, to adapt defence technologies for civilian applications. The role in the development of the innovation ecosystem of the military departments of innovation and technology development, which attract significant investments, build incubators and accelerators for the creation and development of military innovative developments, was noted. Emphasis was placed on the need to borrow the experience of forming a system of support for innovative ideas and creating conditions for their implementation for military personnel after the end of service. It was noted that the priority for Israeli society and the state is human life at all stages, caring for it. This is laid in the basis of national security, permeates all spheres of Israeli state policy. The elements of the Israeli start-up ecosystem, which allow to support ambitious projects in the field of tourism in the conditions of military conflicts, have been studied. It is emphasized that it is the lost benefits (revenues not received and tourists who refused to travel), and not military budgets, that determine the main economic losses of tourism from the war. It was noted that Israel actively promotes the safety of most of its territories, involving other countries, which today does not make Ukraine and its tourist offices relatively safe regions. Individual start-ups in the field of tourism that offer applications, platforms, services that help in various aspects of travel, staying in hotels, planning routes, etc. are considered. It is concluded that Israel is currently the country with the greatest potential for innovation in the high-tech sector and the tourism space, thanks to an effective technological start-up ecosystem. Israel demonstrates the highest level of flexibility: the country cannot actively restore its own tourism, but it successfully offers technological solutions to the global tourism industry through a start-up ecosystem. It is completely impossible to copy the Israeli system of support for innovations, start-ups, tourism, Ukraine, and other states. However, Israel's experience in attracting funding from abroad and private investment, supporting R&D, applied research, stimulating youth to innovation and creativity, supporting the education of military personnel, creating territorial centres for the support of knowledge and innovation, creating a comfortable environment for the exchange of experience and technologies, development of tourism in a country with constant military conflicts is worth studying and adapting.

The impact of full-scale armed conflict on water bodies as water supply sources

Water resources are the basic component of sustainable development of the country. Water resources are unevenly distributed across the territory of Ukraine, most settlements and enterprises located in the northern, eastern and southern regions use surface water for water supply. The armed conflict on the territory of Ukraine directly and indirectly affects the state of water bodies, as well as the provision of basic human needs - clean drinking water. With the beginning of conflict on the territory of Ukraine in 2014, water resources regularly suffer from russian terrorist actions. The aggressor uses water resources as natural obstacles, uses the destructive effect of water to kill Ukrainians and cause maximum damage to Ukrainian economy. Also, the destruction of the water treatment and water supply system is used by russian troops as a means of pressure creating water scarcity and terrible sanitary conditions in populated areas. The impact on water resources during armed conflicts in different parts of the world have common features and significant features depending on the level of the conflict and the technology of the water supply system itself. First of all, the impact of armed conflicts on water resources is direct and indirect. The direct impact on water resources as water sources is the direct destruction of water reservoirs, water intake structures and water pipes, contamination of water bodies with the remains of sunken military equipment, mines and chemicals released into the water during the decomposition of weapons. Indirect impact on water sources is in some cases more threatening than direct. The destruction of containers with oil products, chemical substances, fertilizers, which with rainwater or directly fall into water bodies, has much greater damage than the direct impact of sunk military equipment. Forest and meadows fires and other surface cover damages lead to the reduction of the lag time to the river on the catchment area, floods increasing, flooding of larger areas, increasing amount of litter, chemical pollution, and plastics in the rivers. In most of the military conflicts described in the literature, a significant deterioration of water quality in rivers is noted, associated with the discharge of both domestic and industrial wastewater. There is the destruction of wastewater treatment plants, the inability to deliver chemicals for treatment, the inability to control unauthorized discharges of wastewater leads to the contamination of the surface water sources. The report analyses the results of surface water quality researches which officially published by the Water Resources Agency of Ukraine and other governmental and scientific organizations. Monitoring of the surface water quality is carried out on the controlled part of the Ukraine, it is not yet possible to assess the consequences of armed conflict and russian activities on the captured territories.

Important Lessons From The Falkland/Malvinas War: Perspectives On Weaponry Resources And Military Equipment

This research focuses on the analysis of the Falkland/Malvinas conflict that occurred in 1982 with the aim of understanding the differences in armament and military equipment resources between Argentina and the United Kingdom, as well as its impact on the outcome of the war. In the introduction section, we outline the research problem, which is the comparison of armament and military equipment between both sides, and describe the purpose and objectives of the research. This research uses a qualitative methodology with a literature review approach to gather data from various secondary sources such as books, scholarly journals, and research reports. This allows researchers to gain a comprehensive understanding of the Falkland/Malvinas war. The results of this research describe the superiority held by the United Kingdom in almost all aspects of armament, including the Sea Harrier fighter aircraft, which proved to be a decisive factor in their victory in aerial combat. The impact of these differences was Argentina's defeat and significant damage. The conclusion of this research highlights the importance of thorough military preparedness, advanced technology, and effective diplomacy in preventing armed conflicts. War will only bring great losses to both sides, as seen in the Falkland/Malvinas War. Therefore, diplomacy should be promoted as a solution to resolve international disputes and avoid unnecessary bloodshed

Discourses on War and Peace in a Professional Ethics Classroom

Empty seats, uninterested faces and distracted student behaviour are general characteristics of the classroom where humanities subjects are taught to students of science and technology. In this article, I discuss my experience of teaching a course, Professional Ethics, that is generally discarded by the students as ‘an additional burden’ made mandatory  by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) for securing a bachelor of technology degree from Indian institutes of higher education. The teaching note documents the initial attitude of students towards the course content, the process of their transformation into imbibing the essence of the course, and finally the outcomes of the adapted teaching method. Socratic questioning on memes and news reports was used to sensitise the students towards the ethics of war and weapon development. In other words, the teaching process was a discourse of peace building by engaging students in sustainability dialogues.

Challenges and Opportunities in Meeting the Needs of IKN Weapon Systems in the Era of Modern Weaponry Technologies

The relocation of Indonesia's capital city to East Kalimantan has implications for defense and security. This research analyzes the challenges and opportunities of fulfilling the main equipment of the National Capital Integrated Coastal Development (IKN) defense system in the era of modern weaponry technology. Through the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) method, the evolution of warfare from the first generation to the information and cyber era is analyzed in relation to IKN. The research also highlights the development of weaponry technology and its impact on the IKN transition, as well as the urgency of fulfilling modern defense equipment and integrating advanced technology. The results indicate that the relocation of IKN requires strategic adaptation to the evolution of warfare and the use of new technologies in defense. It is crucial to comprehensively fulfill the needs of defense equipment in the air, land, sea, and cyber domains to maintain the sovereignty and security of IKN. With the integration of advanced technology and wise planning, the relocation of IKN can be approached with thorough preparation and an effective defense system. In facing these complex dynamics, international collaboration efforts and adaptation of defense policies become important to respond to global challenges and generate appropriate solutions.

Hypersonic Weapons: Evolution or Revolution?

Hypersonic strike systems have become a driving force in the development of offensive weapons. Academic literature offers two perspectives on the prospects of their impact on the military-strategic situation. One approach tends to position hypersonic weapons as a revolutionary technology, while the other proceeds from the premise that hypersonic strike systems represent an evolutionary development of offensive systems. The objective of this article is to establish the specifics and limits of the hypersonic weapons impact on the existing military-strategic balance. The paper analyzes the problem of hypersonic weapons classification, their role and place in military strategy, as well as the evolution and prospects of the Russian, U.S. and Chinese programs on hypersonic weapons. The authors conclude that the advantages of hypersonic weapons cannot automatically be transformed into a guaranteed success amid a full-scale military conflict and are largely available to other strike systems based on less advanced technological solutions. The key scenario, where the benefits of hypersonic weapons can be realized the most, is a limited conflict, in which they are used for the surprise defeat of highly-protected priority targets and the establishment of theater domination. This is evidenced by the hypersonic development programs of the leading military powers – Russia, the United States, and China, – each of which is more or less committed to developing medium- and short-range systems. The implications of the unfolding hypersonic arms race for strategic stability are ambiguous. On the one hand, forward deployment of such systems increases the risks of escalation; reduced flight time to enemy strategic infrastructure facilities encourages the adversary to adopt more aggressive retaliation postures based on the principle of launch-on-warning rather than post-attack. On the other hand, the possession of hypersonic weapons by both sides in the same theater increases their mutual vulnerability and can thus play a stabilizing role.

Simulation of arms distribution strategies by combat zones to create military parity of forces

The problem of researching weapons distribution strategies to ensure effective combat operations in a military conflict zone is being formed and solved. The relevance of the study is related to the solution of the task of an operational-tactical nature in order to establish the military parity of forces in the conditions of the introduction of various equipment into the combat zone (CZ), which has different characteristics of combat capability from the set of warehouses and suppliers, with long supply chains. The problems that arise when establishing military parity of forces with the help of various weapons with different indicators of combat capability, the limited capabilities of suppliers, and the complications of supply logistics are analyzed. It is shown that asymmetric solutions, according to military equipment, are possible because of the use of technological innovations and high indicators of the combat effectiveness of weapons. It was concluded that the establishment of military parity of forces is possible thanks to the use of rational strategies for the distribution of weapons, which is an urgent problem in the conditions of modern hybrid warfare. Thus, this paper proposes a study of possible strategies for the distribution of weapons by CZ in conditions of threats of martial law of the country. The current study creates models that allow for the evaluation of possible arms distribution strategies, considering the diversity of military equipment, limited capabilities of suppliers, and risks associated with long logistics supply chains. Using set-theoretical analysis, methods of combinatorics, and enumeration theory, a systematic presentation of the distribution process of weapons is created. Possible strategies for the distribution of weapons by CZ to establish military parity of forces are formed and analyzed. Optimization models have been created for the rational distribution of military equipment under conditions of limited capabilities of manufacturers in terms of costs, production terms, and risks of arms supply. A simulation model is being developed to study the dynamics of the logistical process of distribution and supply of weapons in agent representation using the AnyLogic platform. Modeling allows you to analyze the impact of threats to the main indicators of the distribution and supply of weapons. An illustrative example of the distribution of weapons by CZ of a military conflict is presented. The scientific novelty of this research is related to the solution of the actual problem of the rational distribution of various military equipment by CZ in the conditions of modern hybrid warfare. The results of this study should be used for operational-tactical planning of the logistical process of distribution and supply of weapons to solve the problem of establishing military parity of forces in the CZ.

Transcriptomic and functional screening of weapon formation genes implies significance of cell adhesion molecules and female-biased genes in broad-horned flour beetle.

For understanding the evolutionary mechanism of sexually selected exaggerated traits, it is essential to uncover its molecular basis. By using broad-horned flour beetle that has male-specific exaggerated structures (mandibular horn, head horn and gena enlargement), we investigated the transcriptomic and functional characters of sex-biased genes. Comparative transcriptome of male vs. female prepupal heads elucidated 673 sex-biased genes. Counter-intuitively, majority of them were female-biased (584 genes), and GO enrichment analysis showed cell-adhesion molecules were frequently female-biased. This pattern motivated us to hypothesize that female-biased transcripts (i.e. the transcripts diminished in males) may play a role in outgrowth formation. Potentially, female-biased genes may act as suppressors of weapon structure. In order to test the functionality of female-biased genes, we performed RNAi-mediated functional screening for top 20 female-biased genes and 3 genes in the most enriched GO term (cell-cell adhesion, fat1/2/3, fat4 and dachsous). Knockdown of one transcription factor, zinc finger protein 608 (zfp608) resulted in the formation of male-like gena in females, supporting the outgrowth suppression function of this gene. Similarly, knockdown of fat4 induced rudimental, abnormal mandibular horn in female. fat1/2/3RNAi, fat4RNAi and dachsousRNAi males exhibited thick and/or short mandibular horns and legs. These cell adhesion molecules are known to regulate tissue growth direction and known to be involved in the weapon formation in Scarabaeoidea beetles. Functional evidence in phylogenetically distant broad-horned flour beetle suggest that cell adhesion genes are repeatedly deployed in the acquisition of outgrowth. In conclusion, this study clarified the overlooked functions of female-biased genes in weapon development.

The End of the Old France. <i>Book Review of ‘From Triumph to Disaster: Political and Military Defeat of France in 1940 and Its Origins’ by A.A. Vershinin and N.N. Naumova</i>

The book under review is a new monograph by A.A. Vershinin and N.N. Naumova ‘From triumph to disaster: Political and military defeat of France in 1940 and its origins’, published in 2022. In order to separate myth from reality and restore, as far as possible, an accurate picture of those tragic events, the authors of the monograph under review turn to a wide array of sources — ranging from memoirs of direct participants to archival documents from various countries. They also thoroughly examined the works of both classic and contemporary researches on the military and political history of France. A.A. Vershinin and N.N. Naumova provide an exceptionally detailed picture of the main political, social, military, cultural and ideological reasons that provoked the defeat of the French army. The authors debunk the popular myth that this defeat allegedly resulted from a shortage of military equipment. They show instead that it was caused by a complex of factors: instability of the Third Republic’s regime, contradictions between political parties, strategic miscalculations of the military and politicians. The authors stress that the defeat of France, which allowed the Third Reich to take a dominant position in Europe, became an important milestone in the history of international relations. According to the reviewer, A.A. Vershinin and N.N. Naumova rightly conclude that the old France, which once determined the fate of the world, perished in May-June 1940 in the battles of the Meuse and Dunkirk.