Warfare Strategy Research Articles

The modalities of China’s combinatory unrestrictive warfare strategy

This article analyses the modalities of China’s combinatory unrestricted warfare. After an investigation of the founding principles of Chinese military thought, the second part of the article is dedicated to the importance of technology in modern warfare and more specifically what Chinese military thinkers called “informatization,” which enables a combinatory unrestricted warfare strategy. Through a geopolitical analysis, the last part of this article specifies the modalities of Chinese combinatory unrestricted warfare applied to China’s security concerns: ensuring Chinese economic development and the preservation of China’s territoriality, including Taiwan and its territories in the SCS (South China Sea) and ECS (East China Sea).

ANALYSIS OF WEAPON TECHNOLOGY AND DEFENSE RESOURCES USED IN THE INDONESIAN GUERRILLA WAR 1945 – 1949

Guerrilla War strategy became an important part of the history of Indonesia's struggle. The limited weapon technology and defense resources used in the Guerrilla War made the choice of strategy become important. Therefore, an analysis of the utilization of weapon technology and defense resources used during Indonesian Guerrilla War from 1949 to 1949 will provide a deeper understanding of how limited resources can be effectively utilized in the struggle for independence. This method uses a qualitative method with a narrative/historical approach to analyze the utilization of defense equipment technology and weaponry resources in the period of the Indonesian guerrilla war in 1945-1949. Through this analysis, it can be seen that the guerrilla strategy succeeded in maximizing the potential and effectiveness of limited weaponry resources. Environmental factors, battle tactics, and the courage of fighters were successful in maintaining independence. In the perspective of asymmetrical warfare, Indonesia's guerrilla warfare strategy succeeded in balancing superior forces.

Effectiveness of the Global Surgical and Medical Support Group (GSMSG) activities in Ukraine.

Targeting of healthcare infrastructures in Ukraine has served as a tactical warfare strategy. The goal of the Global Surgical and Medical Support Group (GSMSG) is to provide sustainable, high quality medical and surgical care in war zones. GSMSG deployed United States (US) Special Operations veterans and highly specialized licensed medical experts. Training of Ukrainian civilians was implemented. Over 20,000 Ukrainians trained and over 100 major surgeries performed with assistance of world experts. Specialized medical equipment was also provided. GSMSG lays the groundwork for effective, high quality, and sustainable surgical interventions into a nation in conflict.

Where military and fluvial geographies disastrously conjoined: The Huayuankou flood of 1938–1947 during the Sino-Japanese war

The Huayuankou flood event (1938–1947) refers to the prolonged flooding caused by the artificial bursting of the Yellow River embankment at Huayuankou during the Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). It recreated the historical scenes of frequent floods in the lower Yellow River region of China since the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368–1911), with the counties along the Jialu River in the eastern plains of Henan especially becoming the disaster-stricken areas. The flood lasted for nearly nine years until the completion of embankment restoration work in 1947, causing long-term and extensive environmental impacts. This paper discusses this catastrophic historical flood event caused by human factors, the warfare strategies and hydraulic technology that acted as drives, and the location factors and historical context leading to the start of flooding in flood-prone areas of Henan. Based on spatial perspectives and the historical GIS approach, the paper compiles and integrates historical documents and maps with archival material and topographic maps from the 1930s and 1940s to present the extent of the flood, the associated disasters, and the persistent effects of official relief strategies and political situation in the wider context, examining how the Huayuankou flood was used as a military tactic, but with unpredictable disastrous consequences.

Perception of Fifth Generation Warfare Among Social Media Users: A Case of Punjab University Students

Due to its colonial past, the public of Pakistan is conscious about their country’s security and sovereignty. The communication tools are now being used as a weapon in warfare. Pakistan has seen significant exposure to 5GW during the past ten years; it needs to reassess and modify its national security plan, warfare strategies, and military orientations. Conventional, irregular, combatants, civilians, cyber warfare, nanotechnology, indirect political approaches and even Artificial Intelligence (AI) are being used in 5GW. This study aims to know the perception of young educated social media users about fifth generation warfare itself and interference of international institutes/countries in 5GW. Using the survey technique, 292 responses from different departments of University of the Punjab were gathered and analyzed descriptively on SPSS in the light of Agenda setting theory. The results approved the hypothesis that university students are acquainted in some way with the notion of 5GW as well as conventional and non-conventional forms of warfare. Moreover, they also believed that powerful countries and institutes are influencing the 5GW in Pakistan.

Cyber Warfare and Cyber Terrorism Threats Targeting Critical Infrastructure: A HCPS-based Threat Modelling Intelligence Framework

Acts of cyber warfare and cyber terrorism (CWCT) that target a nation's critical infrastructure (CI) are quickly becoming a larger threat to national security than conventional kinetic warfare strategies. Adversaries or potential adversaries can target a nation's electrical grids, telecommunications, financial services, transportation, healthcare systems, and other forms of CI. These acts pose a major threat to a nation's CI and consequently exposes citizens to public health, safety, security, and economic development risks. Identifying cyber vulnerabilities and threats can help nations to improve their CI defence strategies. There is a crucial need for research that can aid in understanding the major types of CI threats and by what method they might occur. This paper conducts a systematic literature review to develop an initial threat intelligence framework of CWCT attacks on CI. Drawing from a Human–Cyber–Physical Systems (HCPS) lens, the threat intelligence framework classifies CWCT attacks according to the methods, weapons, vulnerabilities, targets and impact of the CWCT attack. The cyber warfare community can extend the proposed HCPS-based threat intelligence framework to develop more advanced cyber security mitigation strategies, training scenarios and simulations. Large-scale monitoring of CI threats requires in-depth threat intelligence analysis and a collaborative defence strategy. This calls for a higher degree of coordination and orchestration between the military, intelligence agencies, government departments, multinational allies, regulators, and commercial entities. Future research can customize the proposed HCPS-based threat intelligence framework to cater for the unique threats facing specific CI domains.

China’s Pro-Russian Neutrality Position in the Ukraine Crisis as Part of Its “Hybrid” Confrontation with the West

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 consolidated the West which seeks to secure the Putin regime’s strategic defeat in Ukraine. While refraining from a direct support of the Kremlin, China has demonstrated throughout this conflict a “pro-Russian neutrality” declaring a “no limits partnership” with Moscow which might result in a new bipolar confrontation between the West and the non-Western power centre with China and Russia on top of it. Being unable to directly confront the consolidated West, Beijing and Moscow have embarked on the path of a hybrid warfare strategy to modify America’s hegemonic behaviour by shifting global normative narratives, delegitimising the US leadership in the eyes of the broader international community and gaining support among the countries of the Global South.

Zawahiri’s General Guidelines and the Collapse of Al Qaeda’s Levant Network

This article addresses the factors leading to Al Qaeda’s continued fragmentation and the collapse of its efforts to create a jihadi state in the Levant. It does so in two parts. First, we look at Al Qaeda’s development of its far enemy strategy that deviated from past jihadi warfare strategies. Second, we examine Al Qaeda’s dysfunctional response to the Arab Spring. The protests untethering of Mideast states and its inflammation of sectarian tensions accelerated Al Qaeda’s transformation into a fractured network committed to localized (increasingly sectarian) insurgencies. After bin Laden’s 2011 killing, Zawahiri in September 2013 released his General Guidelines for the Work of Jihad to tie Al Qaeda’s branches localized insurgencies to a wider struggle against the Zionist-Crusader dominated world order.1 He failed to do so. Upon exploring jihadism’s splintering into three discordant factions represented by Al Qaeda’s far enemy focus, ISIS sectarianism and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s (HTS) localized insurgencies, this article concludes that this development has led to an ineffective but dangerously resilient global jihadi movement. Key words: Jihadism, extremism, sectarianism, insurgency Received: 2022-12-17 Revised: 2023-01-15

Overview of Asymmetric Warfare Strategy and International Relations in the Syrian War 2011

<p>This article focuses on analyzing the Asymmetric War carried out by the parties involved in the Syrian War. The actors analyzed were the state, the opposition, and the pro-revolutionary parties. With a qualitative approach, this study emphasizes content analysis methods. The framework of this research departs from the conflict in Syria which can be analyzed by the theory of Asymmetric Warfare by Rod Thornton and the <em>t</em>heory of International Relations. The research results show that the conflict in Syria is part of Asymmetric Warfare, i.e. the support of military forces by foreign countries in the Syrian War conflict is urgently needed by each side (pro-revolutionary and pro-regime). In addition, viewed from international relations was a continuation of the Cold War launched by a great power country between Russia and the United States. It is therefore essential to undertake a thorough investigation of the current evolution of Modern War, particularly Asymmetric War.</p>

Gerilla Savaşının Stratejisini Anlamak: Tet Saldırısı Örneği, 1968

Bu çalışma, Vietnam Savaşı’nın dönüm noktası olan Kuzey Vietnam Ordusu ve Viet Kong’un 1968’de gerçekleştirdiği Tet Saldırısı’nın askeri bir mağlubiyete rağmen politik zafere nasıl ulaştığını analiz etmektedir. Genelde savaş, özelde ise gerilla mücadelesi, politik hedefler içeren şiddet olayları sürecidir. Bu anlamda silahlı mücadelenin önemli hedeflerden biri, irade üstünlüğünün, en az kayıp ile hasma kabul ettirilmesidir. Psikoloji ise, bu meydan okumanın en önemli değişkenleri arasındadır. Nitekim savaşta en büyük başarı, zararı en alt düzeyde tutarak hasmın mücadele azmini ve direncini kırmaktır. Bu bağlamda gerilla savaşı, gayri nizami harp yöntemlerini içeren bir yıpratma savaşı olarak, psikolojik unsurları da açığa çıkaran bir araştırma alanıdır. Bu çalışma, 1968’de gerçekleştirilen Tet Saldırısı örneği üzerinden gerilla savaşının stratejik yapısını açıklamayı hedeflemektedir. Literatürde Vietnam Savaşı’nın dönüm noktası olduğuna yönelik bir fikir birliği bulunan Tet Saldırısı, askeri başarısızlığın politik anlamda başarıya nasıl ulaşabileceğini anlamak açısından önemlidir. Viet Kong gerillalarının hasımlarından yedi kat daha fazla zayiat verdiği bu saldırı, hasımlarını Vietnam Savaşı hakkında bir umutsuzluğa sürüklemiştir. Çalışmanın tarihsel sınırlılığı 1967-1975 tarihleri arasındadır. Çalışma, Türkçe literatüre, gerilla savaşı konusunu Tet Saldırısı üzerinden inceleyerek katkı sunmayı hedeflemektedir. Bu analiz, savaşın psikolojik unsuru gibi soyut boyutlarının yarattığı etki ile kapasite açısından savaşın belirleyici unsurlarından birisi olabileceğini de göstermektedir.

A Descriptive Analysis of the Use of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Weapons by Violent Non-State Actors and the Modern-Day Environment of Threat.

The use of chemical, biological, radiation, and nuclear (CBRN) weapons is not new, and though rare, it is an issue of concern around the world due to their ability to cause large-scale mass-casualty events and their potential threat to global stability. The purpose of this study is to explore the use of CBRN weapons by non-state actors through analysis of the Violent Non-State Actor (VNSA) CBRN Event database, and aims to better inform health care systems of the potential risks and consequences of such events. Data collection was performed using a retrospective database search through the VNSA CBRN Event database. A total of 565 events were recorded. Five hundred and five (505) events (89.4%) involved single agents while 60 events (10.6%) involved multiple agents. Fatalities numbered 965 for chemical agents, 19 for biological agents, and none for radiological and nuclear events. Injuries numbered 7,540 for chemical agents, 59 for biological agents, 50 for radiological events, and none for nuclear attacks. Fatality and injury per attack was 2.22 and 17.37, respectively, for chemical event agents and 0.15 and 0.48, respectively, for biological event agents. Violent Non-State Actors were responsible for 565 unique events around the world involving the use of CBRN weapons from 1990-2020. The United States (118), Russia (49), and Iraq (43) accounted for the top three countries where these events occurred. While CBRN events remain relatively rare, technological advances have the potential to facilitate the use of such weapons as part of a hybrid warfare strategy with significant repercussions for civilian health and health care systems.

Black, White, and Khaki: Lettow-Vorbeck and the African Askari

On battlefields that stretched for miles across the savanna in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro, to palm-shaded beachheads and dense tropical forests, the forces of the German East African Schutztruppe under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck engaged Allied forces in far-flung East Africa during the First World War. Few units in the Imperial German Army resembled the Schutztruppe, in that it was mostly made up of black African askari, led by a small white German/European officer corps. In addition to heading the transformation of the unit from a counter-insurgency force meant to quell native African uprisings, to one that could defeat European colonial forces, Lettow-Vorbeck’s leadership allowed the Schutztruppe to survive against the hundreds of thousands of Allied troops sent against it, without regular assistance from the Germany. Ultimately, the Schutztruppe was never fully subdued during the war, and only surrendered when informed of the general armistice in late November 1918. This paper will use primary and secondary sources to examine the status of the Schutztruppe and the askari before, and then during the war, seeking to prove that the Schutztruppe was able to effectively fight and survive the campaign using guerilla warfare strategies and tactics learned before World War I, combined with highly rigorous “Prussian”- style training and loyalty to Lettow-Vorbeck himself that was introduced shortly before and during the conflict.

Experimental Study of Sandwich Strength Materials Made from Banana Fiber, as Advance Materials of the Unmanned Mine Sweeper (UMS) Hull

Mine countermeasures (MCM) is a sea operation that is very risky for personnel and material losses. The development of mine technology with the discovery of modern digital mines technology currently makes mine warfare strategies change, namely by relying on the unmanned minesweeper (UMS) as a mine detector, to mitigate the impacts and risks of sea mines on naval operations. UMS vessel size is 4.8m LoA, speed 2.57m/s and beam 2.24m. The main requirements for UMS are low magnetic, low vibration, and low hydrostatic. In this study, the author will make a sandwich material made from banana fibre as an Unmanned Mine Sweeper gastric material. The choice of banana fibre is because in addition to low magnetic, its availability is very abundant in Indonesia and the price is relatively cheaper than kevlar fibre. This study uses the technique of manufacturing vacuum assessed resin infusion (VARI). Then the strength test will be carried out with a tensile test, impact test and hardness test using the ASTM standard and compared with wood and fibre materials. The test results show that abaca banana fibre is capable of being used as an unmanned minesweeper hull material.

«ОРКИ» ЯК КОНЦЕПТ ТІЛЕСНОСТІ В МЕДІАРЕАЛЬНОСТІ НА ТЛІ РОСІЙСЬКОГО ВТОРГНЕННЯ В УКРАЇНУ

<p><strong><em>Objective of the study</em></strong><strong><em> </em></strong><em>–</em><em> </em><em>consider the symbolic coding of the physicality under the concept of an «orc» as a communicative practice of mass media during the Russo-Ukrainian War. </em></p><p><strong><em>Methods of the study.</em></strong><em> In the process of the study, were used methods of systematization of open data sources, analysis, and interpretation. Due to the usage of the comparative-historical analysis, a transformation of the communicative tradition of usage of the «orc» lexem was discovered in mass media discourse from 2013 to 2022.</em></p><p><strong><em>Results.</em></strong><em> The usage of the «orc» lexem in several contexts in mass media was studied: as a denomination of Russian militaries and citizens of the Russian Federation, which was established by the Ukrainian segment of media reality, and as a self-denomination of residents of the Russian Federation. The usage potential of this lexem under the communicative strategies of the information warfare was outlined. </em></p><p><em>The «orc» concept as a physicality tool in symbolic codes of the informational landscape was considered. The study determines in which was its prominent physical imagery in communication forms worldview filters of perception of the information. </em></p><p><em>The introduced concepts are evaluated. A custom view on the ethic relevance of the usage of the «orc» lexem in mass media is provided. Assumptions regarding the further perspective of this language practice are voiced out. </em></p><p><strong><em>Novelty.</em></strong><em> Mass media remain the principal tool of representation of new meanings in the symbolic coding of the events that take place during the Russo-Ukrainian War. Messages that are fixed in this way have become the object of studying not only in scientific investigations of social communications, but also of linguistics and media psychology. The analysis of popularity of the «orc» concept in mass media and meme culture in Ukrainian journalism studies has received single episodes of attention. Apart from this, separate research works contained value judgement of the ethic problems of this communicative practice, which fact narrows down the understanding of its cultural phenomenon. </em></p><p><strong><em>Practical significance.</em></strong><em> The results of this research can be used in the studies dedicated to media awareness, hate speech in mass media and memes (the approach that researches functionality of memes as entities of cultural information). also, the study may be interesting to practical journalists as a means of studying the impact of emotional-imaginative content on their audience. </em></p><p><strong><em>Key words:</em></strong><em> full-scale war, Russo-Ukrainian War, orcs, mass media, mass media means, media reality, image of the enemy, physicality, meme, visual image.</em></p>

Latent If Not Present: Arriving at and Departing from Lito Mayo

Abstract: Arriving at Lito Mayo's early departure (Lipa, 1954–Manila, 1983) conjures the lifework of the poet, painter, and printmaker who so thought of lifeforms as always recasting that he conceived of realms regardless and regardful of their limits. Reared by family members active in the Philippine Revolution, Mayo employs the idiom of southern Tagalog Catholicism ciphered through strategies of warfare and freemasonry in an intaglio practice thoughtfully engaged in marginalia's frontiers, reversal's intellect, and pressure's persuasions. Such tropes emerge from procedures of print conscious of the relentless repercussions of a coloniality intrinsically linked to his epoch's fight against dictatorship and ecological destruction. Within this ominous horizon, Mayo repeats and embodies the anting-anting (charm) and taong-ibon (bird-human), rendering vain the binary of the visible and invisible so as to treat cogent those which are "capable of emerging". This is the weight and flight of Mayo's thinking around which the material of this monograph is ordered: the artist charms the writer's availability just as the essay finds Mayo latent if not present.

Weight-Based Clustering Algorithm for Military Vehicles Communication in VANET

In vehicular ad-hoc network (VANET), every vehicle node indicates a mobile node and it acts as a transmitter, receiver and router for the delivery of the information. VANET is a subgroup of mobile ad-hoc network (MANET) and is related to the dynamic topology. Dynamic network scenarios are more challenging issues as compared to MANET topologies, so finding a suitable algorithm for all VANET applications is the major challenge for the researchers. Routing protocols in VANET are divided into six parts i.e., cluster-based, geocast-based, topology-based, position-based, and broadcast-based. Autonomous robots and unmanned military vehicles (UMVs) become part of the advanced warfare strategy to execute dangerous war field operations and military combat missions. The military vehicles (MVs) transfer information to each other in order to achieve required military tasks collectively. In the proposed work, rhombus shaped area is divided into multiple clusters using a weight-based clustering algorithm for transmitting the event information to the vehicles. Intersection clustering with rhombus shaped area which are very effective for clustering. To choose cluster head (CH), the proposed method has used two weighted metrics, one is real time average speed and the other parameter is degree. This work is useful for choosing right CH in the network. Each vehicle in the same cluster transmits the data to the CH instead of broadcasting it. The simulation has been done in the SUMO and NETSIM simulator, which shows the network performance for the different protocols like Ad-hoc on-demand distance vector (AODV), dynamic source routing (DSR) in terms of packet delivery ratio, throughput, delay, overhead transmission, mean and standard deviation.

Terrorist Structures in the Middle East from a Psychological Perspective; Reaction and Exploitation (The Case of Al Qaeda and ISIS)

Terrorism and terrorism are among the most important problems of international security. In the security studies literature, many hypotheses have been put forward regarding the causes of terrorism. These studies, which are carried out regionally in the Middle East, mostly include evaluations made from a religious perspective. In this study, the causality of psychological factors in the background of terrorism and terrorist organizations in the Middle East was questioned and it was argued that psychological motivations, along with many other factors, had an effect on the emergence of terrorism. In this context, the psychological elements in the background of terrorism were examined through two exemplary terrorist organizations, namely Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. The structuring and spheres of influence of these organizations, both regionally and globally, were investigated. It is clear that such terrorist organizations have developed psychological warfare strategies as well as effective warfare. The propaganda tools and ideological references of these organizations that create psychological effects were examined. The characteristics and lives of the leaders of the organization were examined. The psychological arguments made by the experts were compared with examples from the lives and characters of the leaders. In addition to individual studies, the process that caused the problem was also examined with its social and cultural aspects. The problematic psychological infrastructure caused by cultural teachings that push individuals to such structures has been examined. In addition to these different approaches, the contribution of international actors' foreign policy decisions to the process has been examined. Thus, in the study, the subject was handled with an interdisciplinary approach and a discussion was carried out in partnership with the discipline of Psychology and International Relations.

Improved Command and Control (C2) capabilities in urban and challenging terrains

Army's Network Centric Warfare strategy aims to bolster Information Dominance capabilities, utilizing Command and Control (C2) systems like the Army Battle Command Systems (ABCS), stayed on advancing knowledges for example networking, communications, and positioning. Maintaining current Situation Awareness (SA) information is vital for successful C2 systems, requiring incessant and opportune location data from pertinent stages in the battlefield. The accuracy and obtainability of this location evidence straight impact active efficiency. Traditionally, positioning served the purpose of "own ship" pilotage, answering the question of navigating from Point A to Point B. However, the part of placement as a communal reserve is evolving, increasing the status of location evidence quality and availability. The primary source of this position data is the NAVSTAR Global Positioning System (GPS), offering a consistent coordinate reference with accuracy unaffected by time or distance traveled, and with lower integration costs compared to alternatives like Inertial Navigation Units (INU) or Doppler Radar Navigation Sets. It's crucial to note that GPS is susceptible to Electro-Magnetic Interference (EMI) and signal blockage in Urban and Compound Terrain. Technological initiatives are focused on exploring advanced integration techniques that combine externally aided and self-contained navigation systems.

Provoking an Overreaction: Transborder Guerrilla Warfare in the Kenya-Somalia Borderlands

ABSTRACT Scholars have shed much light on the positive correlation between foreign military interventions and blowback in the form of transnational violence, such as terrorist and guerrilla attacks. While the strategies of transnational terrorism have been widely addressed in the literature, the strategies of transborder guerrilla warfare have received little attention. Since Kenya deployed troops to Somalia in 2011, Al-Shabaab has carried out reprisal attacks in Kenya in an attempt to wear down their opponents. Using new primary evidence from Somalia and Kenya, I demonstrate that Al-Shabaab frequently stages transborder guerrilla operations at the margins of Kenya with the intention of provoking a violent overreaction from the Kenyan state against ethnic Somalis who dominate the Kenya-Somalia borderlands. The resulting repressive governmental response has strengthened perceived divisions and mistrust among Kenyan Somalis, sparked virulent public anger in Somalia, and reinforced the public image of Kenya as an unfriendly foreign occupying force. Despite the costly militant casualties, the findings reveal that militant groups prioritize transborder guerrilla attacks over transnational terrorist violence primarily due to the resultant state repression against their presumed constituency. These findings contribute to the broader analytical literature on militant organizations’ strategic goals.

FORMATION OF A DATASET OF CRYPTOGRAPHIC ALGORITHMS FOR ENSURING DATA CONFIDENTIALITY TRANSFERRED FROM RECONNAISSANCE AND SEARCH UAV

The rapid development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) has significantly changed the conduct of military operations and warfare strategies, offering numerous advantages in terms of intelligence, surveillance and combat capabilities. The use of UAV in the military sphere provides more complete situational awareness, operational efficiency and reduces risks to personnel. In addition, in the field of intelligence and surveillance, UAV have revolutionized the context of intelligence gathering. Equipped with the latest image processing systems, sensors and high-resolution cameras, they can conduct real-time aerial photography, monitor enemy activity and gather critical intelligence without putting the military at risk. UAV make it possible to conduct long-term operations in conditions of secrecy, providing commanders with valuable information for making strategic decisions. However, the issue of ensuring the confidentiality of critical data collected using UAV remains unresolved. With this in mind, in this paper universal dataset of cryptographic algorithms was created, it uses a neural network to select the optimal encryption algorithm. To form such a dataset, it was necessary to evaluate the speed of the crypto algorithms, their cryptographic security and other parameters. The developed dataset in synthesis with a neural network can be used to select the optimal crypto algorithm depending on the operating conditions. In further research, the authors plan to determine the criteria for using the generated dataset by neural networks and develop a knowledge base for neural network training.