Handheld Weapons Research Articles

YOLO-GTWDNet: a lightweight YOLOv8 network with GhostNet backbone and transformer neck to detect handheld weapons for smart city applications

YOLO-GTWDNet: a lightweight YOLOv8 network with GhostNet backbone and transformer neck to detect handheld weapons for smart city applications

Anthropological Study of Indigenous Weapon Production Among the Anufor of Northern Ghana

Weapon production and warfare are unavoidably linked, as the former is needed to prosecute the latter. It was essential for the protection of the ego and image of a group, and this urge was strong enough to plunge states into endless warfare. During pre-colonial times, West African states like the Dagomba, Gonja, Mamprusi, and allies, including the Anufor, were preoccupied with wars of expansion and consolidation of acquired territories. In most cases, these wars involved the seizure of territories, as the ownership of territories showed the extent of one’s power and influence. Several traditional armies were thus engaged in warfare to control territories and the resources therein, including trade routes and markets. The strength of an army partly depended largely on the efficacy and level of sophistication of their weapons. The Anufor, who were very efficient in the war enterprise as mercenaries, were equally efficient in producing various weapons, including physical handheld weapons, plant venom, and spirituality. This paper uses oral histories and traditions among the Anufor and their allies in Ghana and Togo, as well as archival sources. Critical analysis of relics of war accouterments and Arabic manuscripts at the Institute of African Studies, Legon, was enriching.

Desert Insurgency: Archaeology, T. E. Lawrence, and the Arab Revolt

Desert Insurgency: Archaeology, T. E. Lawrence, and the Arab Revolt

Сложносоставные луки населения Алтая жужанского времени (по материалам некрополя Чобурак-I)

The article presents the publication and analysis of the compound bows of the Altai population in the Rouran period, found in the burials of the Bulan-Koby culture of the Choburak-I funeral complex. A series of objects of this site, located near the Elanda village of the Chemal district of the Altai Republic, have been explored by an archaeological expedition of the Altai State University. The authors systematized the bone (horn) bows from the burials of seven men (mounds 30, 30a, 31, 31a, 32, 34a, 38) and one adolescent (mound 29a). A comparative study of the available materials gives grounds to attribute these items to the 2nd - 5th centuries AD. A significant similarity in the design and shape of the bone (horn) parts of the published samples of hand-held throwing weapons has been noted. The obtained archaeological data demonstrate the use of long bows with symmetrical and asymmetrical base, reinforced by seven overlays, by the “Bulan-Kobins”. The study of objects recorded “in situ” testifies to the existence of the practice of placing “incomplete” (broken) bows or samples with disassembled overhead elements in the burial place among the population of Altai in the Xianbei-Rouran period. The presented materials expand the source base for a comprehensive study of long-range offensive weapons of the population of the region at the turn of the late antiquity and the early Middle Ages.

Effect of Projectile Shape on the Power of Fire in Personal Defense Hand-Held Weapons

The category of arms which represent the group of Personal Defense Hand-held Weapons (PDHW) has special characteristics and requirements; among this wide range of characteristics is the request to gain high power of fire while retaining high mobility incorporated with high accuracy of fire. The old design 9mm Parabellum which is still inservicehas lost the credibility of securing the demands of the 20th century soldier; this deficiency is represented in its low muzzle energy in spite of high recoil force which causes projectile instability during flight and loss of firing accuracy. In addition its bullet possesses bad ballistic shape which decreases the effective range. In this paper, a comparative study was performed between two pistol calibers, the 9mm old Parabellum and the same arm when modified and substituted by 5.56x23mm caliber. The exterior ballistics of both calibers was carried out using the PRODAS package. The aerodynamic coefficients and the trajectories were predicted and compared for both projectiles. The study reveals that using 5.56 mm caliber improves the power of fire, as well as the accuracy and stability. The study assures the importance of substitution of the in service 9mm Parabellum with the 5.5623mm which satisfies all combat and economical requirements as a personal defense hand hold weapon.

Probleme de datare a armelor balcanice din sec. XVIII-XIX aflate pe teritoriul actual al Romaniei / Issues Relating to the Dating of the Balkan Arms from the 18th–19th Centuries on the Current Territory of Romania

Probleme de datare a armelor balcanice din sec. XVIII-XIX aflate pe teritoriul actual al Romaniei / Issues Relating to the Dating of the Balkan Arms from the 18th–19th Centuries on the Current Territory of Romania

Modeling and numerical simulation of semi-automatic pistol dynamics

In this study, a mathematical model of a semi-automatic hand-held weapon is presented. The dynamical equations of motion are derived by utilizing the formalism of Lagrange equations of the second kind. The model is applied to describe motion of P-64 semi-automatic pistol. The characteristics of rheological elements accounting for the mechanical reaction of the human hand are identified and are further used to determine the force and torque which act on the human hand during a shot. Some exemplary results of the conducted parametric study are presented in order to illustrate sensitivity of the system.

Blood drop size in passive dripping from weapons

Passive dripping, the slow dripping of blood under gravity, is responsible for some bloodstains found at crime scenes, particularly drip trails left by a person moving through the scene. Previous work by other authors has established relationships, under ideal conditions, between the size of the stain, the number of spines and satellite stains, the roughness of the surface, the size of the blood droplet and the height from which it falls. To apply these relationships to infer the height of fall requires independent knowledge of the size of the droplet. This work aims to measure the size of droplets falling from objects representative of hand-held weapons. Pig blood was used, with density, surface tension and viscosity controlled to fall within the normal range for human blood. Distilled water was also tested as a reference. Drips were formed from stainless steel objects with different roughnesses including cylinders of diameter between 10 and 100mm, and flat plates. Small radius objects including a knife and a wrench were also tested. High speed images of the falling drops were captured. The primary blood drop size ranged from 4.15±0.11mm up to 6.15±0.15mm (depending on the object), with the smaller values from sharper objects. The primary drop size correlated only weakly with surface roughness, over the roughness range studied. The number of accompanying droplets increased with the object size, but no significant correlation with surface texture was observed. Dripping of blood produced slightly smaller drops, with more accompanying droplets, than dripping water.

Dazzle Camouflage Affects Speed Perception

Movement is the enemy of camouflage: most attempts at concealment are disrupted by motion of the target. Faced with this problem, navies in both World Wars in the twentieth century painted their warships with high contrast geometric patterns: so-called “dazzle camouflage”. Rather than attempting to hide individual units, it was claimed that this patterning would disrupt the perception of their range, heading, size, shape and speed, and hence reduce losses from, in particular, torpedo attacks by submarines. Similar arguments had been advanced earlier for biological camouflage. Whilst there are good reasons to believe that most of these perceptual distortions may have occurred, there is no evidence for the last claim: changing perceived speed. Here we show that dazzle patterns can distort speed perception, and that this effect is greatest at high speeds. The effect should obtain in predators launching ballistic attacks against rapidly moving prey, or modern, low-tech battlefields where handheld weapons are fired from short ranges against moving vehicles. In the latter case, we demonstrate that in a typical situation involving an RPG7 attack on a Land Rover the reduction in perceived speed is sufficient to make the grenade miss where it was aimed by about a metre, which could be the difference between survival or not for the occupants of the vehicle.

Information control and terrorism: Tracking the Mumbai terrorist attack through twitter

This paper analyzes the role of situational information as an antecedent of terrorists' opportunistic decision making in the volatile and extreme environment of the Mumbai terrorist attack. We especially focus on how Mumbai terrorists monitored and utilized situational information to mount attacks against civilians. Situational information which was broadcast through live media and Twitter contributed to the terrorists' decision making process and, as a result, increased the effectiveness of hand-held weapons to accomplish their terrorist goal. By utilizing a framework drawn from Situation Awareness (SA) theory, this paper aims to (1) analyze the content of Twitter postings of the Mumbai terror incident, (2) expose the vulnerabilities of Twitter as a participatory emergency reporting system in the terrorism context, and (3), based on the content analysis of Twitter postings, we suggest a conceptual framework for analyzing information control in the context of terrorism.

The Replacement of the Composite Reflex Bow by Firearms in the Muscovite Cavalry

Muscovite cavalry went over to carbines and pistols during the course of the 17th century, yet firearms were not better handheld weapons than the composite reflex bow that the cavalry had been using. carbine was a light form of musket that could be used on horseback, (1) but it had a very short range. (2) To reload the carbine on a horse was tricky, and a cavalryman had to bring his horse to a more or less full stop or dismount. In the heat of battle, the carbine was just dropped in its sling so the cavalryman could use his sword. (3) Likewise, a cavalryman could get off only one shot a pistol (two shots if he had two pistols) and was effective only at very close range. (4) In contrast, mounted archers could get off anywhere from 6 to 15 shots a minute, and their bows had an effective range of from 350 to well over 500 yards, depending on the quality of the bow, the arrows, and the skill of the bowman. In the hands of truly expert bowmen using flight arrows, distances of from over 600 to over 1,000 yards were reported. (5) composite reflex bow remained until the mid-19th century superior to handheld firearms in terms of accuracy, distance, and number of shots able to be discharged from horseback. question is, why did the Muscovite cavalry go over to carbines and pistols? And why did the Muscovite government support the replacement of the composite reflex bow firearms? Although the evidence to answer these questions ranges from minimal at best to virtually nonexistent in Muscovite sources, I hypothesize that firearms replaced bows for reasons that had little to do the weapons themselves. Instead, changes in tactics limiting the cavalry to a defensive role on campaign and placing it secondary in relation to infantry in battle as well as the difficulty in maintaining a sufficiently large force of horse archer athletes is probably what led to the adoption of firearms. Our evidence does tell us that the Muscovites of the 14th through 16th centuries fought using steppe methods of warfare, including the composite reflex bow. (6) Muscovite strategies, tactics, and weaponry reflected the type of warfare conducted by the Mongols and their successors in the western Eurasian steppe. Light and heavy cavalry whose weaponry and equipment were ideally suited for steppe warfare tactics constituted almost the whole of the Muscovite army during that time. Militaries a little further to the west, such as those of Novgorod and Lithuania, were using European methods of the day, including, in the 15th century, the armored knight lance. evidence from Rus' chronicles is sparse but telling. entry of 1436 describes the Lithuanians fighting with (s kop i). (7) Under 1408 the Nikon Chronicle describes a battle in which the Lithuanians' weapons and style of fighting were inadequate to counter the steppe method of fighting employed by the forces of Emir Edigii (Edigei): The proud prince Svidrigailo his brave Lithuanians did not do well against the foreigners [inoplemenniky], [for] their weapons and all their military skills were crushed [slomibosia]. (8) Muscovite chronicles describe the Novgorodians as also fighting primarily lances. According to the entry for 1456, the chronicles portray a battle between 5,000 Novgorodians, who were using heavy armor and lances, and 200 Muscovites, who were using bows: warriors of the grand prince, noticing the heavy armor on the Novgorodians, began shooting arrows at their horses. horses took fright and began to rush about under them and to throw them from their saddles. They [the Novgorodians] were unfamiliar that kind of warfare and were as dead, and their hands grew weak. Their lances were so long that they could not raise them, as was the usual manner of fighting. They dropped them onto the ground when their horses panicked, and they fell under their horses because they could not master them. …

Le siege d’Azaila (Teruel): une relecture critique des indices archeologiques

It is generally considered that during the Sertorian Wars, the site of Cabezo de Alcala (Azaila, Teruel) underwent a siege that would have led to its abandonment. But, despite the apparent accumulation of evidence, a critical re-reading of the traces discovered leaves the reality of this confl ict open to doubt. No urban defence seems to have been built by the community and the «barricades» are perhaps no more than mounds of stones of recent date. Moreover, the two torsion catapults and hand-held weapons —considered evidence of heavy fi ghting and the inhabitants’ resistance— are probably only ancient trophies, while the artillery projectiles discovered could come from the municipal arsenal. Finally, the slope situated to the south of the upper city is probably not an assault ramp, but a simple embankment, later converted to provide easier access to the summit of Cabezo.

Environmental noise reduction means of weapons

Noise from hand-held weapons is generated by their muzzle blast, the noise of the bullet in flight and on impact. The muzzle blast of almost all powder guns exceeds 140 dB near the ear of the shooter, which is considered to be able to generate a risk of hearing defects. The muzzle brake decreases recoil, but at the same time it forces the sound sideways and backwards. One novel aspect of noise attenuation is the use of active noise cancelling system at shooting ranges and in hearing protectors. The noise data has been collected on different shooting ranges in Finland. Both front and reflection types of suppressors were used. Silencers that attenuate noise to the sides and back have a significant effect, where as the noise to the front is not significantly attenuated because of the bullet noise. It is also possible to reach an attenuation of a few decibels of the maximum level of the muzzle blast with ANC headsets. The noise created by shotguns is the most significant source of environmental noise at many shooting ranges. It would be especially important to attain new ideas and innovations in the noise prevention of shotgun ranges.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence

Protection efficiency of hearing protectors against military noise from handheld weapons and vehicles

Noise attenuation against military noises has been measured in several cases under practical field conditions. Commercial and military versions of earmuff noise attenuation were measured against rifle noise. All the tested earmuffs attenuated the C-weighted peak level to less than 135 dB, which is less than the proposed recommendation value. Combat and shooting exercises create a risk of hearing damage, reaching a peak level of 180 dB. Measurements were done during attack exercises with blank and normal cartridges and during a defence exercise with normal cartridges. The noise exposure levels were relatively moderate (outside the ear 95-97 dB, in ear canal 82-85 dB) for military exercises. Peak levels of 110-120 dB for military trainers were measured in the ear canal during the conscript use of small-bore weapons. Combat vehicles and tanks are noisy, and for noise control during their use headgear with communication properties is worn. Noise inside such headgear was found to reach up to 120 dB, and the noise doses varied between 90 and 105 dB. Noise was also measured for aviation pilots in Finnish jet fighters. The cockpit values averaged 96 dB - 100 dB over the flight, whereas noise in the ear canal averaged 88 dB - 95 dB. The analyses indicated that radio noise is 4-10 dB higher inside the helmet than the background noise is, when measured as equivalent noise. The technicians on the ground were exposed to noise levels varying from 93 to 97 dB over the day. In practice, hearing protectors attenuate noise by 10-30 dB, depending on the frequency content of the noise sources. However, the difference when measured outside and inside hearing protectors varies by 5-10 dB because communication increases the noise level at the entrance of ear the canal. Currently the best protection for soldiers seems to be active noise cancellation ear muffs that are equipped for communication purposes and worn during the entire military exercise.

Machiavelli and the Ideology of the Offensive: Gunpowder Weapons in The Art of War

Historians have often claimed that Niccol� Machiavelli shunned the use of gunpowder weapons, both field artillery and hand-held weapons, because of their absence in the ancient world which the Italian loved so dearly. Machiavelli, however, did not reject the use of gunpowder weapons, but gave them a secondary role in his military scheme. The reason for this was that, in Machiavelli's time, reliance on gunpowder weapons necessitated defensive tactics in battle, while Machiavelli believed that an army should take the offensive in war, and he prescribed the role of guns in his army accordingly.

Acute acoustic trauma in Finnish conscripts. Etiological factors and characteristics of hearing impairment.

Etiological factors and otological and audiological findings were analysed retrospectively in 361 Finnish conscripts who had suffered acute acoustic trauma (AAT) from firearms shooting during their military service. The most common cause of AAT was shooting with hand-held weapons without ear-protectors (50%). Other common causal weapons were antitank guns (25%) and cannons (12%). Explosions had caused AAT in one-tenth of the cases. The tympanic membrane had been ruptured in 22 subjects (6%). The frequency at which hearing loss was severest was most commonly 6.0 kHz, followed by 8.0 kHz and 4.0 kHz in that order. Speech frequencies were involved in about 25% of the ears. A flat type of audiometric configuration was observed in about 20% and a rising type (low-tone loss) in about 5% of the ears. Impulse noise from large-calibre guns seemed to cause low-tone hearing loss more often than shooting with hand-held weapons.

U.N. Mediation: More Effective Options

U.N. MEDIATION: MORE EFFECTIVE OPTIONS Paul E. Mason and Thomas F. Marsteller, Jr. „ttempts to settle international political disputes by peaceful means have traditionally been ad hoc, lacking any systematic framework, and usually initiated only after actual hostilities have broken out. This ad hoc approach may have worked in the days of purely localized conflicts and hand-held weapons; but the world today abounds with highly sophisticated instruments of mass destruction, many of which can be instantaneously launched on warning. No longer confined to the superpowers' arsenals, these weapons are also being developed by a growing number of smaller countries. Today the international community simply cannot afford to wait for fighting to begin before seeking peaceful conflict resolution. Other methods must be found to intervene at the very earliest stages of disputes to resolve them peacefully as soon as possible. In an attempt to address the issue, two alternatives are presented here—a United Nations mediation service with regional representatives ("the Service"), proposed by the authors of this article and endorsed by Paul E. Mason was co-chair, United Nations Activities Committee, section of international law and practice of the American Bar Association. Mr. Mason is currently affiliated with the Harvard Law School and practices law in the Boston area. Thomas F. Marsteller, Jr., is a partner in the law firm of Marsteller & Associates, a member of the Inter-American, American, and Federal Bar Associations as well as the International Law Assocation, and is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Houston. The views expressed herein are the authors' and do not necessarily reflect those of the Section or the American Bar Association. Copyright © 1985, Paul E. Mason, Thomas F. Marsteller, Jr. All Rights Reserved. 271 272 SAIS REVIEW the Inter-American Bar Association, and a U.N. commission on good offices, mediation, and conciliation ("the Commission"), offered by a Special Committee of the United Nations. This article will outline the need for a new approach to mediation, briefly review past U.N. efforts at dispute resolution, and examine and compare these two alternative proposals. Although the current ad hoc approach does have considerable flexibility by definition, its drawbacks are dangerous, and timely implementation of either alternative is recommended. Both alternatives address three major problems hindering current attempts at dispute resolution: the lack of a systematic approach, critical delays in dealing with a given dispute, and the refusal of some parties to meet. At present there is no systematic framework in the United Nations or elsewhere for the mediation1 of international political disputes,2 even 1.Mediation, a method of dispute resolution by third parties, has been defined as follows: "If the third party (State or person) not only facilitates communications between the parties [to a dispute] but also actively assists the States in conflict in achieving a settlement of the dispute, good offices change into mediation. The function of the mediator has been defined as 'reconciling the opposing claims' and 'seeking an acceptable solution.' He should avoid formalities, should not make reports and should keep the proceedings confidential. The proposals made by the mediator 'have exclusively the character ofadvice, and never have binding force.' In practice there is little distinction between good offices and mediation, and often the two functions are exercised together." [footnotes omitted]. Louis B. Sohn, The Future of Dispute Settlement, Halifax: Dalhousie University Press (1981):7-8. The mediator functions by meeting together with the parties to the dispute and/or separately with each party when appropriate, to persuade them to consider the positions, interests, and attitudes of the others. The mediator may present to each party the proposed solutions offered by the others, suggest responses to and changes in these proposed solutions, or offer new solutions, ideas, accommodations, etc. On the different roles the mediator can play, see Roger Fisher and William Ury, InternationalMediation: A Working Guide, Harvard Negotiation Project, April 1978, draft edition, 107. For an insightful analysis of the motives of mediators and parties and of methods of mediation, all based upon the precepts of self-interest, political power, and prestige, see Saadia Toubal and I. William Zartman, eds. International Mediation in Theory and Practice, SAIS Foreign Policy Institute (1985):7...

Human Factors Interaction with Industrial Design

A working relationship between the fields of Human Factors and Industrial Design is postulated. It is described as a symbiotic relationship evolving out of the common objectives and unique methodologies of each discipline, and determined by the characteristics of the design problem that requires their collaboration. In working toward the solution of a specific problem, the disciplines exchange leadership roles as the contributions of each field selectively predominate during various stages of the development of a solution. Three examples are discussed in which human factors specialists and industrial designers collaborated to develop design solutions. In the first, a handheld weapon was designed in accordance with the findings of a human factors analysis. These findings established requirements for the industrial designer. In the second example, a system of console and workplace modules was designed by the simultaneous application of human factors and industrial design. In the third, the functional feasibility of a concept for a small field compass was established by the human factors specialist, and the structural feasibility was established by the industrial designer.