Smart Weapons Research Articles

Present and Futuristic Trends in Weapon System

The basic principle of war is based on protection, mobility and firepower. The present scenario of omni-directional and multidisciplinary threats and decreasing response time has made intelligence inevitable for the system to survive and win the war. The intelligence of the system calls for interface of refined logic with systems without compromising any parameters of the gun. However, much of the efforts and funds are directed towards developing the newer technologies to enhance the performance of weapon system in terms of accuracy, consistency, range (stand-off), lethality and transportability. The efforts are also directed towards making smart weapons controlled distantly and cost effective. The future battlefields are going to be dominated by the technological advancements taking place and thus, the technological superiority (i.e. systems with high degree of intelligence) over the adversaries will be the deciding factor to win the war.

Heterogeneous Family of Cyclomodulins: Smart Weapons That Allow Bacteria to Hijack the Eukaryotic Cell Cycle and Promote Infections.

Some bacterial pathogens modulate signaling pathways of eukaryotic cells in order to subvert the host response for their own benefit, leading to successful colonization and invasion. Pathogenic bacteria produce multiple compounds that generate favorable conditions to their survival and growth during infection in eukaryotic hosts. Many bacterial toxins can alter the cell cycle progression of host cells, impairing essential cellular functions and impeding host cell division. This review summarizes current knowledge regarding cyclomodulins, a heterogeneous family of bacterial effectors that induce eukaryotic cell cycle alterations. We discuss the mechanisms of actions of cyclomodulins according to their biochemical properties, providing examples of various cyclomodulins such as cycle inhibiting factor, γ-glutamyltranspeptidase, cytolethal distending toxins, shiga toxin, subtilase toxin, anthrax toxin, cholera toxin, adenylate cyclase toxins, vacuolating cytotoxin, cytotoxic necrotizing factor, Panton-Valentine leukocidin, phenol soluble modulins, and mycolactone. Special attention is paid to the benefit provided by cyclomodulins to bacteria during colonization of the host.

Ag-BaMoO4: Er3+/Yb3+ photocatalyst for antibacterial application

Silver loaded and Er3+/Yb3+ doped BaMoO4 octahedron microcrystals were fabricated by microwave hydrothermal process. The synthesized samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and Ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflection spectroscopy (UV–Vis DRS). The antibacterial application of samples were investigated by visible light irradiation and disk-diffusion method towards representative Gram-negative pathogen (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and Gram-positive pathogen (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus). The complete inactivation of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus were observed by Ag-BaMoO4: Er3+/Yb3+ photocatalyst within 1h, 4h, and 5h, respectively, under visible light irradiation. The high killing percentage and superior zone of inhibition revealed the excellent antibacterial performance. The FESEM images were used to visualize the morphology with the extent of damage in the phospholipid layer present in the cell membrane of bacteria. The synergistic effect of loaded silver particles and doped Er3+/Yb3+ ions in BaMoO4 contributed for efficient antibacterial performance in visible light as well as in the dark. The excellent antibacterial performance of Ag-BaMoO4: Er3+/Yb3+ photocatalyst makes the material suitable for smart weapon for multidrug-resistant microorganisms and disinfectants in biomedical application.

Airframe Performance Optimization of Guided Projectiles Using Design of Experiments

Performance optimization of guided, gun-launched projectiles is a difficult task due to nonlinear flight behavior, complex aerodynamic interactions, and unique engineering constraints. Historically, the design process for many smart weapons has been iterative in which a series of design improvements are made until performance requirements have been met. This paper presents an alternative formal methodology for smart weapons conceptual airframe design and optimization based on design of experiments. At the initial stage, a basic aerobody shape is defined along with candidate control actuators and associated design parameters. Based on a design of experiments, a kriging response surface is generated mapping design variables to performance criteria. Simultaneously, a neural network is trained to recognize unstable designs. Finally, a genetic algorithm determines the optimal projectile design with respect to a predefined cost function. By varying this cost function, a Pareto frontier of optimal designs can be generated reflecting performance tradeoffs. A detailed description of the methodology is given, along with an example in which the fin configuration of a projectile is optimized based on multivariate criteria that seeks to maximize range and impact velocity while minimizing angle of attack. Results show that the proposed automated optimization process is a feasible and valuable tool for smart weapons conceptual airframe design.

Infrared Devices And Techniques (Revision)

Abstract The main objective of this paper is to produce an applications-oriented review covering infrared techniques and devices. At the beginning infrared systems fundamentals are presented with emphasis on thermal emission, scene radiation and contrast, cooling techniques, and optics. Special attention is focused on night vision and thermal imaging concepts. Next section concentrates shortly on selected infrared systems and is arranged in order to increase complexity; from image intensifier systems, thermal imaging systems, to space-based systems. In this section are also described active and passive smart weapon seekers. Finally, other important infrared techniques and devices are shortly described, among them being: non-contact thermometers, radiometers, LIDAR, and infrared gas sensors.

Where's the beer? a paradigm shift in flight-line armament testing

Air Force armament maintainers like their beer and they definitely love their beercans. Prior to loading live weapons on an aircraft, maintainers are required to verify that no stray voltages are present on the armament systems and that firing signals are functioning properly. In the Air Force world, this is done with a small, battery- operated tester called an Armament Circuits Pre-Load Test Set, commonly referred to as a beercan due to its shape and size. The typical beercan is a rudimentary test set with few capabilities and limited performance. The beercan's function verifies that firing signals including magnitude and timing are valid for a launch procedure. The typical beercan only has one or two measurement channels, necessitating the manual switching of various adapters to enable testing of multiple signals. Typical beercans also lack the ability to emulate weapon signals, precluding any effective smart weapons testing by beercans.

시맨틱 웹 기반 국방무기 다차원 정보 분석 시스템

국방 과학기술의 발달에 따라 첨단 무기들이 지속적으로 개발되고 온라인을 통한 정보의 공유가 활발해지면서, 각국의 미래 전략무기 소요 제기를 위한 정보의 수집 및 분석의 중요성이 증가하고 있으며, 이를 위한 이종의 국방정보를 통합 관리 및 분석하는 시스템이 필요하다. 시맨틱 웹은 이종의 지식자원을 통합하고 검색 및 내비게이션 할 수 있는 차세대 지식정보 관리 기반 기술로 최근에는 지능형 시스템 구축에 활발하게 사용되고 있다. 시맨틱 웹은 단순 키워드 검색이 아닌 의미적으로 연관된 정보 검색을 제공하기 때문에 신뢰도 높은 분석 결과를 제공한다. 본 논문에서는 시맨틱 웹을 기반으로 무기 제원 정보를 중심으로 무기의 제조국, 개발 회사, 개발 현황 등 무기와 관련된 다양한 관련 정보를 온톨로지로 구조화하는 것은 물론, 관련 정보를 이용해서 무기를 효과적으로 검색 및 분석할 수 있는 국방무기 다차원 정보분석시스템을 제안한다. 제안한 시스템은 무기의 제원명과 제원의 상하위 관계를 이용해서 확장 검색 기능을 제공하며, 무기 관련 정보를 이용해서 다양한 경로로 무기정보에 접근할 수 있는 기능과 함께 무기체계에 따른 다양한 분석 기능도 제공한다. 또한 개발된 시스템은 무기 분야의 전문가 지식과 웹에서 수집된 무기 관련 정보를 온톨로지로 구축하고 지능화된 검색 서비스를 구현함으로써, 정보전 시대에 필요한 첨단 무기 정보 획득의 효율성을 제고한다. As defense science and technology are developing, smart weapons are being developed continually. The collection and analysis of the future strategic weapon information from all over the world have become a greater priority because information sharing became active. So, a system to manage and analyze heterogeneous defense intelligence is required. Semantic Web is the next generation knowledge information management technology for integrating, searching and navigating heterogeneous knowledge resource. Recently, Semantic Web is wildly being used in intelligent information management system. Semantic Web supports the analysis with the high reliability because it supports the simple keyword search as well as the semantic based information retrieval. In this paper, we propose the semantic web based multi-dimensional information analysis system on the national defense weapons that constructs ontology for various weapons information such as weapon specifications, nations, manufacturers and technologies and searches and analyses the specific weapon based on ontology. The proposed system supports the semantic search and multi-dimensional information analysis based on the relations between weapon specifications. Also, our system improves the efficiency on acquiring smart weapon information because it is developed with ontology based on military experts' knowledge and various web documents related with various weapons and intelligent search service.

Smart Projectile State Estimation Using Evidence Theory

Smart projectile state estimation is a challenging task due to highly nonlinear vehicle dynamic behavior and unreliable or noisy sensor feedback. While Kalman filter-based algorithms are currently the primary means of sensor fusion and state estimation for smart weapons applications, they are limited in estimation accuracy, their ability to combine data from a wide variety of sensors, and their ability to recognize and reject erroneous feedback. This paper explores the use of Evidence Theory (or DempsterShafer theory) for projectile state estimation purposes. Evidence Theory offers a generalized framework capable of incorporating feedback from a wide variety of sensors with little a priori knowledge about sensor noise characteristics. The framework’s main strengths are its ability to manage varying levels of dynamic uncertainty between sensors and its capability to recognize and report conflicting sensor feedback. The paper begins with an overview of Evidence Theory and a discussion of its strengths when applied to projectile state estimation. Then, an Evidence Theorybased filter is described, and an example roll angle estimator is presented. Results are discussed and performance is compared to an Extended Kalman filter. The ability to identify and eliminate malfunctioning sensors from the estimation process proves to be a key advantage of the proposed design over current methods.

A Low-Cost Orientation Estimator for Smart Projectiles Using Magnetometers and Thermopiles

An orientation state estimator is proposed for smart weapons applications using feedback from wide field-of-view thermal sensors and magnetometers. The state estimation system possesses several key advantages over current designs in that it maintains low cost, lacks moving parts, and is free from reliance on GPS or other state feedback. In order to enhance robustness against disturbances that reduce thermopile performance, the filter incorporates heuristics feedback, leveraging preflight predictions of the projectile flight path. Realistic simulations demonstrate estimation performance during conditions in which terrain and weather phenomena distort or obscure the horizon. The article begins with a discussion of sensor modeling techniques and descriptions of how weather and terrain effects are captured. Then, an Extended Kalman filter is developed to estimate Euler angles and projectile spin rate. Example results, incorporating realistic sensor errors and environmental disturbances, demonstrate estimator performance. Monte Carlo results verify filter robustness and effective use of heuristics feedback. Copyright © 2012 Institute of Navigation.

The Personal, Technical, and Public Spheres: A Note on 21St Century Critical Communication Inquiry

Inevitably, any theory of communication addresses the contexts of its times. The public sphere essay was written in 1982. Then, the world was on the edge of a Reagan-Thatcher revolution that would loose neo-liberalism and begin to dismantle the welfare state. The United States was enduring a deep recession due to efforts to control inflation brought about by the debt-financed Vietnam war and careless energy policies. The Cold War held sway. Apocalyptic rhetoric from the Oval Office called for new, computer-guided smart weapons. The defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment fingered, as did issues of race and class left unaddressed by the Great Society. Mass media ruled the airwaves. Television and newspaper companies converged. Stylized political news turned sampling data into horse race thrills ramped up with sexy sound bites. Matters did call for national debate. However, little meaningful public discussion ensued. The linguistic turn, postmodernity, culture wars, migration, AIDS, globalization, and the explosion of digital media--all elements of a coming communication revolution--were readying in the wings. This essay revisits the beginnings of studies in the public sphere, initiated among these circumstances, as critical communication inquiry. Such inquiry identifies communication as symbolic interaction and offers contextual approaches to questions of language, society, and social change (Littlejohn, 1983, pp. 45-73). The essay proceeds to compare Jurgen Habermas's neo-Kantian euro-centric declinist thesis against the notion of pluralistic argument spheres. A brief discussion of the prospects of 21st century studies of the public, technical, and personal spheres of argument is offered in conclusion. ARGUMENT SPHERES AND SOCIAL CONTEXTS My experiences with debate, graduate studies, and communication research had led me to believe that argumentation always, though unevenly, has fueled American democratic practices. Wil Linkugel introduced me to the study of public address at the University of Kansas through his ground-breaking courses in African-American rhetoric and in women's movements. In the discipline I knew, the key moments in the formation of publics featured insurgency, opposition, and sometimes revolutionary contestation (Holland, 1973). Indeed, colonists learned debate from The Columbian Orator (Bingham, 1797/1998) which offered diverse training in argumentation through reading and performance in classical literature and in the public disputes of the bustling multi-racial, multi-ethnic, garrulous young United States of America. The tradition of argumentation and debate as a form of practice continued through the 19th century in boisterous parades, public assemblies, civic performances, and oratorical addresses. Debate and interpretation were present in university life, too, changing over time to meet interests of emergent generations within and against the confines of university administration. In realizing ambitions to become a discipline, the study of communication performed a modern turn, too. Theory was brought on board to enable researchers to classify types or dimensions of communication and, thereby, to measure effects. Similarly, argumentation was theorized as a perspective taken on communication that could be analyzed by modeling practical reason (Brockriede, 1992). The turn I made in 1982 was to read the boundaries of communication in acts of argument. Such critical communication inquiry holds that any particular act of argument, custom of practice, or institutional convention carries with it expectations--which themselves could be granted and extended or disputed and taken to task. The test of taken-for-granted rules for communication is whether they are necessary or sufficient for the communicative work of agreement or disagreement. As a project, public sphere studies was a turn to keep in mind the argumentativeness of argument, the contingency of human cultural creations which define reasonableness or take exception to the unreasonable--always with an uncertain risk of being misplaced or simply wrong. …

Airpower and technology: smart and unmanned weapons

Airpower and technology: smart and unmanned weapons

A new efficient algorithm for optimal assignment of smart weapons to targets

In the modern battlefields smart weapons inherently rely on the sensors. The benefit of assigning a given weapon to a target often depends on the pre-assigned sensor. In this paper we present an efficient algorithm to optimally assign sensors and weapons to targets. This algorithm is derived from the well-known auction algorithm, and it is named as Swt-opt. We prove that Swt-opt converges to an optimal solution.

Cantilever Beam Design for Projectile Internal Moving Mass Systems

Internal masses that undergo controlled translation within a projectile have been shown to be effective control mechanisms for smart weapons. However, internal mass oscillation must occur at the projectile roll frequency to generate sufficient control force. This can lead to high power requirements and place a heavy burden on designers attempting to allocate volume within the projectile for internal mass actuators and power supplies. The work reported here outlines a conceptual design for an internal translating mass system using a cantilever beam and electromagnetic actuators. The cantilever beam acts as the moving mass, vibrating at the projectile roll frequency to generate control force. First, a dynamic model is developed to describe the system. Then the natural frequency, damping ratio, and length of the beam are varied to study their affects on force required and total battery size. Trade studies also examine the effect on force required and total battery size of a roll-rate feedback system that actively changes beam elastic properties. Results show that, with proper sizing and specifications, the cantilever beam control mechanism requires relatively small batteries and low actuator control forces with minimum actuator complexity and space requirements.

A variable stability projectile using an internal moving mass

Weapon designers have known for some time that projectiles with low static margin have proven to be more susceptible to launch perturbations than comparable projectiles with high static stability, and that low static margin allows greater control authority. The work reported here examines a mechanism for active static margin control in flight through mass centre modification, demonstrating that such a system has significant impact on required manoeuvre control force to achieve a given control authority. A system is developed wherein a mass translates aft during flight inside a cavity aligned with the projectile centre-line, thereby altering the mass centre. This in turn decreases the projectile's static margin after launch and allows greater control authority later in flight, while at the same time decreasing initial throw-off errors. A seven-degree-of-freedom flight dynamic model is used to predict the performance of the system. Results show that by decreasing static margin after launch the projectile is less susceptible to launch perturbations and has increased control authority through the remainder of flight, leading to a smart projectile that outperforms rigid projectiles that are highly stable or highly manoeuvrable. This smart weapon feature is particularly attractive when the maximum control force and moment are small, and therefore is developed specifically for controllable munitions rather than missiles, which often exhibit ample control authority.

These “smart weapons” hit cancer in novel ways

Be prepared to recognize and manage a new collection of adverse reactions that may arise from these innovative approaches to cancer therapy.

The Rise and Fall of Missile Diplomacy? President Clinton and the “Revolution in Military Affairs” in Retrospect

During the 1990s the “revolution in military affairs” (RMA), which produced “smart” weapons like cruise missiles, came of age. This apparently transformed how America viewed the relationship between force and international relations. It looked like technology was framing foreign policy. In particular, smart weapons enabled President Clinton to combine risk minimization with an expanded security agenda. However, we should be wary of ascribing technological determinism to the conflicts of the 1990s dominated by Washington's flexing of its strategic superiority, such as its bombing of Belgrade. As shown by comparison with post‐“9–11” US strategy, Washington's stance in the 1990s was shaped by linkages between technology and specific political circumstances. As these circumstances changed, so did the RMA's place in US efforts to shape world order.

Control Authority of a Projectile Equipped With an Internal Unbalanced Part

A key technical challenge for smart weapon developers is the design of appropriate control mechanisms that provide sufficient control authority to enable correction of typical trajectory errors while not excessively burdening the overall weapon design. The work reported here considers a rotating mass unbalance control mechanism, created by radial orientation of an internal part. To investigate the potential of this control mechanism, a seven degree-of-freedom flight dynamic model of a projectile, equipped with an internal part is defined. Using this dynamic model it is shown that by holding the internal part fixed with respect to a nonrolling reference frame, predictable trajectory changes are generated including predictable impact point changes. As expected, when unbalance-offset distance, or mass is increased, control authority increases proportionally. This control mechanism creates impact point changes that are the same order of magnitude as dispersion caused by errors induced at launch and in flight. Control authority is significantly altered with changing projectile characteristics, such as, the mass center location, pitch inertia, yaw inertia, aerodynamic drag, and aerodynamic normal force.

Surface Characterization of (111) and (100) Textured Diamond Coatings Deposited to Silicon

The use of diamond for infrared (IR) transmitting applications is of paramount importance to the defense industries. Diamond-coated IR transmitting materials are used on smart weapons and aircraft that use substrate materials such as silicon and germanium. In this investigation, diamond sheets were deposited using chemical vapor deposition. The as-grown diamond sheets were characterized for hydrogen content using detailed IR analysis. The deconvolution of the spectra in a three-phonon region (2700–3150 cm−1) showed a number of vibration modes corresponding to the spmCHn phase of carbon. The spectra representing (100) and (111) textured diamond sheets, grown under different conditions, were compared. The (100) textured sheets contained two dominant peaks centered at 2860 and 2930 cm−1, which correspond to the symmetric and asymmetric stretch bands of the CH2 group. However, the sheet with (111) texture displayed multiple CH, CH2, and CH3 peaks on the spectrum. Using a standard sample called polymethyl methacrylate with known concentration, the hydrogen content associated with various modes was evaluated in the diamond sheets. IR active hydrogen in the chemical vapor deposited diamond sheets was also calculated by evaluating the area of the IR band. A discrepancy of one order of magnitude was found in the calculated and measured value. Using these measurements we suggest that the oscillator strength of the different IR modes varies depending upon the structure and H content of CVD diamond sheets.

Modified Projectile Linear Theory for Rapid Trajectory Prediction

In some smart weapons, estimation of the impact point of the shell at each computation cycle of the control law is an integral part of the control strategy. In these situations, the impact point predictor is part of the imbedded computing system onboard the projectile. Practical considerations dictate that the impact point predictor yield rapid yet reasonably accurate estimates. Common methods for rapid trajectory prediction are numerical integration of point mass dynamic equations and evaluation of approximate closed-form solutions of the rigid-body projectile dynamic equations. These methods are shown to exhibit poor impact point prediction for long-range shots with high gun elevations characteristic of smart indirect fire munitions. Through modifications of projectile linear theory, a rapid projectile impact point predictor is proposed that eliminates the accuracy problems of the other methods while preserving low computational requirements. Typical results are provided for a short-range trajectory of a direct fire fin-stabilized projectile and a long-range trajectory for an indirect fire spin-stabilized round to substantiate these claims.

Intelligent virtual agents keeping watch in the battlefield

One of the first areas where virtual reality found a practical application was military training. Two fairly obvious reasons have driven the military to explore and employ this kind of technique in their training; to reduce exposure to hazards and to increase stealth. Many aspects of combat operations are very hazardous, and they become even more dangerous if the combatant seeks to improve his performance. Some smart weapons are autonomous, while others are remotely controlled after they are launched. This allows the shooter and weapon controller to launch the weapon and immediately seek cover, thus decreasing his exposure to return fire. Before launching a weapon, the person who controls that weapon must acquire/perceive as much information as he can, not only from its environment, but also from the people who inhabits that environment. Intelligent virtual agents (IVAs) are used in a wide variety of simulation environments, especially in order to simulate realistic situations as, for example, high fidelity virtual environment (VE) for military training that allows thousands of agents to interact in battlefield scenarios. In this paper, we propose a perceptual model, which seeks to introduce more coherence between IVA perception and human being perception, increasing the psychological “coherence” between the real life and the VE experience. Agents lacking this perceptual model could react in a non-realistic way, hearing or seeing things that are too far away or hidden behind other objects. The perceptual model, we propose in this paper introduces human limitations inside the agent’s perceptual model with the aim of reflecting human perception.