Defense Requirements Research Articles

HPC for SAR-MSS Data Fusion Experiments

Satellite image fusion techniques are compute intensive models mainly due to the availability of voluminous temporal data from multiple sensors. The need and support of High Performance Computing clusters in modelling various satellite data fusion techniques is unavoidable as the 5V’s such as volume, velocity, variety, value and veracity of space based Big Data has to be scientifically integrated over a HPC environment. Any such integration is meaningful, only when a suitable domain specific parallel processing algorithm is developed that can extract the much required critical information in near real time or real time mode. In this regard, this article mainly focuses on defining a HPC system environment and corresponding parallel algorithm which together supports the image fusion experiments of various space borne satellite data sets. Emphasis has been given in fusing different frequency, polarization Synthetic Aperture Radar’s, intensity data with Multi Spectral optical satellite data. The well proved and most commonly followed IHS and PAC image fusion techniques are studied and its parallel version of algorithm that can be enabled over the proposed HPC environment are discussed. In the current world scenario, setting up the proposed HPC system and enablement of proposed parallel models are unavoidable, mainly to address the real time requirements of defense and disaster management operations.

Energy dissipation and seismic response reduction system for high-speed railway bridges based on multiple performance requirements

The emergence of high-speed railway bridges in regions with high seismic intensity has brought attention to the growing seismic challenges associated with these structures. Although the prevalent use of friction pendulum bearings for seismic isolation in China has proven effective in mitigating the seismic response of bridges, it falls short of meeting the safety standards required for high-speed trains. To address the limitations of existing isolation systems, this study employs a combined approach of numerical simulation and experimental research, leading to the invention of performance-controllable isolation bearing and multi-directional energy dissipation dampers. Mechanical models for both components were introduced, and design methods for their key parameters were established based on multi-level seismic defense requirements. By integrating these advancements, a novel cooperative seismic isolation system for high-speed railway bridges was created. Under the influence of moderate earthquakes, the system relies on the shear key to meet the stiffness requirements for normal service. During large earthquakes, the shear key is sheared off, and the damper provides momentary stiffness to control track deformation, enabling the safe stopping of trains. This combination forms a seismic isolation system during large earthquakes, ensuring the safety of railway bridges. The numerical analysis of a high-speed railway bridge employing a cooperative seismic isolation system demonstrates substantial mitigation in the response of both the pier bottom and pier top. This aligns with seismic requirements for the bridge structure. Additionally, the reduction in train track deformation meets safety standards, confirming the seismic performance of bridges and ensuring the reliability of train operations.

MR-SFAMA-Q: A MAC Protocol based on Q-Learning for Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks

<p>In recent years, with the rapid development of science and technology, many new technologies have made people’s exploration of the ocean deeper and deeper, and due to the requirements of national defense and marine development, the underwater acoustic sensor network (UASN) has been paid more and more attention. Nevertheless, the underwater acoustic channel has the properties of considerable propagation delay, limited bandwidth, and unstable network topology. In order to improve the performance of the medium access control (MAC) protocol in UASN, we propose a new MAC protocol based on the Slotted-FAMA of Multiple Reception (MR-SFAMA) protocol. The protocol uses the Q-Learning algorithm to optimize the multi-receiver handshake mechanism. The current state is judged according to the received node request, and the Q-table is established. Through the multi-round interaction between the node and the environment, the Q-table is continuously updated to obtain the optimal strategy and determine the optimal data transmission scheduling scheme. The reward function is set according to the total back-off time and frame error rate, which can reduce the packet loss rate during network data transmission while reducing the delay. In addition, the matching asynchronous operation and uniform random back-off algorithm are used to solve the problem of long channel idle time and low channel utilization. This new protocol can be well applied to unstable network topology. The simulation results show that the protocol performs better than Slotted-FAMA and MR-SFAMA regarding delay and normalized throughput.</p> <p> </p>

Achievement of the Planetary Defense Investigations of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Mission

NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission was the first to demonstrate asteroid deflection, and the mission's Level 1 requirements guided its planetary defense investigations. Here, we summarize DART's achievement of those requirements. On 2022 September 26, the DART spacecraft impacted Dimorphos, the secondary member of the Didymos near-Earth asteroid binary system, demonstrating an autonomously navigated kinetic impact into an asteroid with limited prior knowledge for planetary defense. Months of subsequent Earth-based observations showed that the binary orbital period was changed by –33.24 minutes, with two independent analysis methods each reporting a 1σ uncertainty of 1.4 s. Dynamical models determined that the momentum enhancement factor, β, resulting from DART's kinetic impact test is between 2.4 and 4.9, depending on the mass of Dimorphos, which remains the largest source of uncertainty. Over five dozen telescopes across the globe and in space, along with the Light Italian CubeSat for Imaging of Asteroids, have contributed to DART's investigations. These combined investigations have addressed topics related to the ejecta, dynamics, impact event, and properties of both asteroids in the binary system. A year following DART's successful impact into Dimorphos, the mission has achieved its planetary defense requirements, although work to further understand DART's kinetic impact test and the Didymos system will continue. In particular, ESA's Hera mission is planned to perform extensive measurements in 2027 during its rendezvous with the Didymos–Dimorphos system, building on DART to advance our knowledge and continue the ongoing international collaboration for planetary defense.

President Vladimir Putin’s speech at the Victoria Day parade in the light of some Ciceronian rhetorical principles

The purpose of this article is to examine the manner in which three of the principles of Ciceronian rhetoric and oratory are used in the speech of President V. Putin on the occasion of the Victory Day parade. The first of them, regarding the auditor’s information, is partially respected by the Russian president, in that he presents too little data intended to provide a somewhat concrete picture of how Western countries have reported, over time, to Russia’s defense requirements. Next, we bring enough examples to demonstrate the orator’s preference for the principle that consists in convincing the audience by appealing to arguments of an affective nature. The third, convincing the public through ethical arguments, strictly depends on the achievement of the previous ones. The degree of respect for each one emerges from the specific quotes in the content. The natural conclusion of the approach is that the Russian president prefers only one of them, failing, in our opinion, to effectively capitalize on the other two, a fact that has (or should have) repercussions on the persuasion of the audience.

India’s Quest for Defence Indigenisation: A Case Study of the Indian Navy

India, like all major military powers, has been making sustained attempts at indigenously meeting its defence requirements. However, when one looks at the macro picture, it is apparent that the country has had limited successes in inducting defence platforms or weapon systems that are indigenously designed, tested, manufactured and inducted into the military. There have been some exceptions to this like the HF-24 Marut fighter jet, the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, the Main Battle Tank Arjun, Leander class frigates, Indigenous Aircraft Carrier Vikrant, Kolkata and Vishakhapatnam class destroyers and the Arihant nuclear submarine. While these examples only prove the general rule, they also point out India’s relative success in creating domestic capacity to build naval platforms. As India embarks on the path of Atmanirbharta (self-reliance), it is crucial for the political and military decision-makers to understand what, why and how the above-mentioned projects, particularly the naval ones, became successful, so that their success can be replicated elsewhere. The article attempts to understand the reasons behind the Navy’s successes. These successes have been the result of an institutionalised—as opposed to an individual-centric—approach by the Navy to create in-house design capabilities, organisational structure, planning procedure, capacity building efforts and linkages with other stakeholders like naval Defence Public Sector Units, Defence Research and Development Organisation and other scientific establishments and industry. This has made the Indian Navy more successful as compared to the other two services of the Indian military when it comes to designing, testing, constructing and inducting indigenous naval platforms.

Technological developments and implications of autonomous military drones: prospects in global geopolitics

This article aims to characterize the unmanned drones used in the new global military defense strategies, considering the technological developments associated with artificial intelligence and robotics. In this sense, a documentary study was carried out to identify the most representative developments in the market of autonomous military drones, observing their implications in present and future war scenarios. The study established the implications that autonomous weapons are taking in global geopolitics, assuming changes in the way of incorporating intelligent technologies to improve the autonomy of drones to face the requirements of defense and attack demanded by the new battlefield scenarios. This scenario gives a glimpse of the coming years of the increase of drones as lethal weapons of low cost and high precision, whose deployment in various scenarios will be more effective in military operations of various kinds.

Justin Bronk with Nick Reynolds and Jack Watling: The Russian Air War and Ukrainian Requirements for Air Defence. London: Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), November 2022

<b>Justin Bronk</b> with <b>Nick Reynolds</b> and <b>Jack Watling</b>: The Russian Air War and Ukrainian Requirements for Air Defence. London: Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), November 2022

Weaponising Europe? Rule-makers and rule-takers in the EU regulatory security state

ABSTRACT In contrast to the conventional wisdom that security is governed exclusively by nation states exercising political authority to generate public security goods, the European Union can also be considered a security state: it governs security indirectly by making rules incentivising and steering the provision of public security goods. To what degree, however, does the EU govern defence markets, shape the trajectory of national defence capabilities, and direct efforts towards European strategic autonomy? This paper traces the EU’s attempts to regulate arms production and identifies critical junctures in EU authority as a market rule-maker over the means of force. It finds that market rule-takers—non-state defence firms—are shaped by EU epistemic authority and regulation. Specifically, EU rule-making shapes firm perceptions of relative defence market uncertainty. Firms perceiving future home defense markets as less risky due to regulatory oversight are incentivised to reduce their own current profits by self-funding innovation towards future defence requirements and procurement sales to their home states. By incentivising the non-state production of public security goods with its rule-making and relational market power, the EU is a modern regulatory security state, even in the defence domain where it has little political authority.

Using CT scans to determine the optimal sizes of hard armour plates to protect the torso for UK female Armed Forces personnel

IntroductionHard armour plates provide coverage to essential anatomical structures in the torso that, if injured, would likely be responsible for death before damage control surgery can be undertaken. Existing front...

Commitment to the Continent: The Foreign Office, the War Office, and the British Field Force, 1934-1938

ABSTRACT Despatching ground forces – the Field Force – to the continent constituted a cardinal element of British grand strategy from early 1934 to early 1938. In winter 1933-1934, through the Defence Requirements Sub-Committee [DRC], senior Foreign Office and Treasury officials, working with the Chiefs of Staff, advised the Cabinet to begin moderate rearmament – ultimately £52 million – with a deadline of 1939. Central to DRC recommendations was the Field Force to underwrite British maintaining the European balance of power through military support for France and the Low Countries to deter possible German aggression. When reporting in February 1934, the DRC identified two adversary Powers requiring improved British defences: Germany, the ‘ultimate potential enemy’, and Japan, of lesser importance. The War Office immediately began creating the Force, built around four divisions. In 1935, given the Abyssinian crisis, Italy joined the list of potential adversaries, and the Cabinet approved almost £400 million DRC-recommended additional defence spending, again, by 1939. The government guided by the Foreign Office monitored the balance; and War Office planning now centred on a 16-division Field Force. However, in May 1937, Neville Chamberlain rose to the premiership and initiated a defence review requiring more spending – £1.625 billion in two tranches: 1939 and 1941 – but eliminating the Field Force. Eschewing the balance, Britain would rely on powerful air and naval forces to maintain national and imperial security. However, after Germany’s conquest of Czechoslovakia in March 1939 and a darkened continental milieu, the Field Force was reborn to underpin British strategy.

Locating Health and Treatment Centers (Hospitals) with a Passive Defense Approach; Case Study: Babil City

The application of the principles and requirements of passive defense in urban spaces and facilities has attracted special attention in the country. Health care service centers are one of the centers that are directly involved in ensuring the health of the individual and society. Since the duty of the hospital is to respond to its users and to treat them, and this response should be as complete and useful as possible, it is believed that the proper assistance, facilitating the access of patients to treatment places depends on the correct location of the hospital and quick and timely access to these centers is very important and necessary during crises. In most cities, the lack of appropriate allocation of space and optimal placement of medical centers (hospitals) and the number of effective factors in the location of these centers has led to an increasing number of urban and citizen problems. This research seeks to optimally distribute the use of medical services in the city of Babol by observing the rules of passive defense. In this research, spatial data was prepared from digital and linear maps, and descriptive data was collected using statistics and field research and connected to the database. Then, for each of the influencing factors in the location of treatment centers (hospitals), related layers were prepared and the privacy of users was specified in each layer; the results of the integration of the information layers, the lands of the desired area for choosing the right place for healthcare use were divided into five categories: very excellent, excellent, good, average and poor, and finally the very excellent and excellent category lands for the construction of health-treatment centers were determined.

Computer network security evaluation method based on improved attack graph

ABSTRACT The traditional security detection and defense methods are relatively backward, and there are many problems, such as high false alarm and missed alarm rate, and detection lag, which have been difficult to meet the requirements of computer security defense. In order to strengthen the active defense of computer network security and improve the classification and prediction performance of computer network security events, a computer network security risk assessment model based on mrmr Ig feature selection model and attack graph model is proposed. The mrmr Ig feature selection model is used to classify the characteristics of security events, and the hidden Markov chain model and attack graph model are used to predict the attack intention. The experimental results show that the classification accuracy rate of the model is 99.79%, the false alarm rate and the false alarm rate are 0.11% and 0.18%, respectively. The model can accurately predict attacks in real time, and can provide reference for timely taking targeted computer network security reinforcement and active defense measures.

Cicero’s Proconsulship in Cilicia: The Foreign Policy Aspect

The correspondence of Marcus Tullius Cicero during his term as proconsul of Cilicia provides an opportunity to better understand the complexities of governing Roman provinces during the crisis of the Republic, and above all to assess Rome’s ability to counter external threats. However, the genre of this source has strongly shaped the historiographical tradition, which has come to reflect the view of the events held by the author of most of the letters. Thus, works by modern scholars commonly justify and show full support for the proconsul’s actions. Those isolated studies that try to look critically at Cicero’s efforts during his proconsulship negatively assess the measures taken to counter the Parthian threat but identify the Roman proconsul himself as the culprit for their failure. In our view, Cicero’s correspondence allows us, at least in part, to consider the problem of the Roman provinces in the East as a whole, leaving aside the figure of one particular governor. It can be said with a high degree of confidence that the system of Roman provincial government during the late Republic did not meet the requirements of effective frontier defense in the East. The appointment of governors (proconsuls and propraetors) depended on too many random factors (as did the election of consuls and praetors) for professional managers and military men to always hold these key positions. Cicero’s example is the most striking, but obviously not unique. The elite’s focus on domestic politics automatically made foreign policy tasks secondary. Further, the governors had only limited resources, suitable for localized policing operations but inadequate even against a large-scale plunder raid, not to mention a major invasion. The allies, for many decades protecting the Roman borders with their troops and territories, now for the most part lost even the ability to control their own possessions. Traditional reliance on allied monarchs not only deprived the Romans of military support, but also led to misinformation about the situation at the border. The center’s quick response to instability on the periphery was hampered not only by slow communications, but also by the lack of a clear decision-making mechanism in Rome. Ironically, the Republic was saved by the absence of a real adversary in the East.

Climate and Competitive Status Modulate the Variation in Secondary Metabolites More in Leaves Than in Fine Roots of Betula pendula.

Plant secondary metabolites have many important functions; they also determine the productivity and resilience of trees under climate change. The effects of environmental factors on secondary metabolites are much better understood in above-ground than in below-ground part of the tree. Competition is a crucial biotic stress factor, but little is known about the interaction effect of climate and competition on the secondary chemistry of trees. Moreover, competition effect is usually overlooked when analyzing the sources of variation in the secondary chemistry. Our aim was to clarify the effects of competitive status, within-crown light environment, and climate on the secondary chemistry of silver birch (Betula pendula Roth). We sampled leaves (from upper and lower crown) and fine roots from competitively dominant and suppressed B. pendula trees in plantations along a latitudinal gradient (56–67° N) in Fennoscandia, with mean annual temperature (MAT) range: −1 to 8°C. Secondary metabolites in leaves (SML) and fine roots (SMFR) were determined with an HPLC-qTOF mass spectrometer. We found that SML content increased significantly with MAT. The effect of competitive stress on SML strengthened in colder climates (MAT<4°C). Competition and shade initiated a few similar responses in SML. SMFR varied less with MAT. Suppressed trees allocated relatively more resources to SML in warmer climates and to SMFR in colder ones. Our study revealed that the content and profile of secondary metabolites (mostly phenolic defense compounds and growth regulators) in leaves of B. pendula varied with climate and reflected the trees’ defense requirements against herbivory, exposure to irradiance, and competitive status (resource supply). The metabolic profile of fine roots reflected, besides defense requirements, also different below-ground competition strategies in warmer and colder climates. An increase in carbon assimilation to secondary compounds can be expected at northern latitudes due to climate change.

Research on resilience assessment and disaster prevention strategy of active distribution network

Since Chinese government work report in 2010 put forward the content of strengthening the construction of smart grids, the construction of smart grids has become one of the important contents of the national development strategy. In the in-depth study of smart grids, the issue of security defense systems and disaster prevention frameworks has always been Research hotspots by scholars at home and abroad, but most of my country’s existing security defenses are aimed at large-scale interconnected systems such as transmission grids, and there is a lack of research on disaster prevention of distribution networks. Therefore, in this research context, this article starts from the perspective of multi-source information fusion, takes into account the uncertainty of distribution network information and other factors, constructs a distribution network disaster response resilience index system and a distribution network resilience assessment model, and uses accidents at the same time. The scenario optimization method improves the disaster warning capability of the distribution network, and provides a scientific basis for the distribution network to take active defense measures. Then, a coordinated defense evolution strategy for the distribution network considering the optimization of accident scenarios was established. This strategy takes limited resources as the constraint, takes the minimum load loss as the objective function, and considers the economics of strategy conversion. Power supply equipment output, load transfer, and switching linkage mechanism between the three load is established, forming islands of security, and network transfer, emergency coordination of the three islands of the distribution network evolution strategy of active defense. This strategy looks for a directional evolution path from real-time accident scenarios to defense strategies from both horizontal and vertical perspectives, and realizes the coordinated control of the distribution network’s active defense strategy locally and globally. Finally, this paper takes the ice disaster climate as an example for simulation verification to prove the comprehensiveness of the risk assessment model and the rationality of the security defense method, and prove that the defense strategy can meet the online adaptive evolution requirements of the active defense of the distribution network, while taking into account The local autonomy and global optimal coordinated control of the active defense of the distribution network make up for the shortcomings of the current active defense strategy and are of great significance to further improve the security defense level of the active distribution network.

Unprecedented threats to cities from multi-century sea level rise

A portion of human-caused carbon dioxide emissions will stay in the atmosphere for hundreds of years, raising temperatures and sea levels globally. Most nations’ emissions-reduction policies and actions do not seem to reflect this long-term threat, as collectively they point toward widespread permanent inundation of many developed areas. Using state-of-the-art new global elevation and population data, we show here that, under high emissions scenarios leading to 4 ∘C warming and a median projected 8.9 m of global mean sea level rise within a roughly 200- to 2000-year envelope, at least 50 major cities, mostly in Asia, would need to defend against globally unprecedented levels of exposure, if feasible, or face partial to near-total extant area losses. Nationally, China, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam, global leaders in recent coal plant construction, have the largest contemporary populations occupying land below projected high tide lines, alongside Bangladesh. We employ this population-based metric as a rough index for the potential exposure of the largely immovable built environment embodying cultures and economies as they exist today. Based on median sea level projections, at least one large nation on every continent but Australia and Antarctica would face exceptionally high exposure: land home to at least one-tenth and up to two-thirds of current population falling below tideline. Many small island nations are threatened with near-total loss. The high tide line could encroach above land occupied by as much as 15% of the current global population (about one billion people). By contrast, meeting the most ambitious goals of the Paris Climate Agreement will likely reduce exposure by roughly half and may avoid globally unprecedented defense requirements for any coastal megacity exceeding a contemporary population of 10 million.

Crystal structure, Curie temperature, and electromagnetic absorption properties in FexCo30Ni60−xSi5Al5 (x = 30, 35, 40, 45) high entropy alloys

In order to meet the requirements of future national defense for high temperature electromagnetic (EM) absorbing performance, a series of FexCo30Ni60−xSi5Al5 (x = 30, 35, 40, 45) high-entropy alloys (HEAs) powders was prepared and their Curie temperatures (TC) were measured by a self-made Wheatstone bridge. According to the results, varying the Fe/Ni ratio affected the crystal structure, Curie temperature, oxidation resistance, and electromagnetic absorbing properties of the above compounds. Since Fe has a BCC structure and is thus easier to form the solid solutions with Si and Al, the crystal structure of the alloy has changed from FCC toward BCC with increasing Fe dopant content. In turn, the Curie temperature (TC) decreased from 473.68 °C to 358.07 °C, being lower than their initial oxidation temperature (>800 °C). The reflection losses (RL) of powders at room temperature and high temperatures (≤500 °C) were calculated as well. It was found that the flake powders after ball milling gained a larger aspect ratio, resulting in the better absorption effect, which was due to high toughness and low strength characteristics of the initial FCC structure. Furthermore, the permittivity and permeability of alloys upon heating reached impedance matching at a certain temperature, thus achieving the greater RLmax value. Finally, the high-temperature EM absorption characteristics of HEAs were shown to merit a thorough study.

The Chemical Profiling of Essential Oils from Different Tissues of Cinnamomum camphora L. and Their Antimicrobial Activities.

Cinnamomum camphora L. is grown as an ornamental plant, used as raw material for furniture, as a source of camphor, and its essential oil can be used as an important source for perfume as well as alternative medicine. A comparative investigation of essential oil compositions and antimicrobial activities of different tissues of C. camphora was carried out. The essential oils were extracted by hydrodistillation with a Clevenger apparatus and their compositions were evaluated through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), enantiomeric composition by chiral GC-MS, and antimicrobial properties were assayed by measuring minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs). Different plant tissues had different extraction yields, with the leaf having the highest yield. GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of 18, 75, 87, 67, 67, and 74 compounds in leaf, branch, wood, root, leaf/branch, and leaf/branch/wood, respectively. The significance of combining tissues is to enable extraction of commercial quality essential oils without the need to separate them. The oxygenated monoterpene camphor was the major component in all tissues of C. camphora except for safrole in the root. With chiral GC-MS, the enantiomeric distributions of 12, 12, 13, 14, and 14 chiral compounds in branch, wood, root, leaf/branch, and leaf/branch/wood, respectively, were determined. The variation in composition and enantiomeric distribution in the different tissues of C. camphora may be attributed to the different defense requirements of these tissues. The wood essential oil showed effective antibacterial activity against Serratia marcescens with an MIC of 39.1 μg/mL. Similarly, the mixture of leaf/branch/wood essential oils displayed good antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus fumigatus while the leaf essential oil was notably active against Trichophyton rubrum. C. camphora essential oils showed variable antimicrobial activities against dermal and pulmonary-borne microbes.

The Necessary Elements: The Interactive Matrix of Abusive Relationships

ABSTRACT This essay uses the film The Tale to illuminate the interactive matrix of abusive relationships, highlighting (a) the ways that perpetrators use offers of love and concern, and gaslighting and threats to establish a relationship with a child that, from its outset, is designed to the gratify perpetrators’ own sexual desires and (b) the characteristics that contribute to the child’s susceptibility to seduction trauma, including unmet needs—for attention, to be valued, seen, chosen, loved—as well as intrapsychic concerns, including defensive requirements and unconscious fantasies (e.g., primal scene and family romance fantasies). Additionally, the repercussions of seduction trauma are considered in relation to the self and object relationships that are configured through the interactions between the perpetrator and the survivor of abuse. These interactions include a mystifying intermingling of attuned, sensitive responsiveness, and manipulative control, as well as the simultaneous presence of threats and offers of love. These contribute to the way that childhood sexual abuse is experienced, represented internally, and remembered later.