Weapon Performance Research Articles

Horizontal Trajectory Tracking System Based On Rotating Mirror

abstract Target track is an important research dot in weapon performance testingfiled, to stable track the flying target in optical detection system and testing instrument, horizontal trajectory tracking system based on rotating mirror was researchedin this paper.A horizontal trajectory tracking method was proposed for the tracking problem in the process of the projectile flight, the design of rotating mirror was analyzed and designed;the calculation method of the rotating mirror tracking system were derived, and the influence factors were studied and analyzed, the rotating mirror rotation control algorithm without considering effect of gravity flight targetwasanalyzed and the angular displacement and angular velocity of the rotating mirror were given in the effective tracking range. Through experiment and calculation, the results show that the tracking system can achieve stable tracking of flying target

Optimization about the layout of IMUs in large ship based on fruit fly optimization algorithm

Accurate attitude information is needed in the deck of large ship, but it is influenced by the deformation of the deck, the deformation will degrade the performance of the ship-board weapons and equipments. Aim at this problem, IMUs which are contain laser gyros and accelerators, are installed in the key battle point of the deck, applying for the estimation of the deformation, but how many IMUs are needed, and where they should be arranged, is a difficult problem for mankind to solve by hand. In this paper, a new proposed optimization algorithm named fruit fly optimization algorithm (FOA) is utilized to determine the layout of the IMUs, fitness function for the FOA algorithm is organized by the ship's Modal Assurance Criterion (MAC) matrix. Experimental results show that the FOA algorithm can give an optimal layout of the IMUs for detecting the deformation of the deck.

Stress-induced cortisol secretion impairs detection performance in x-ray baggage screening for hidden weapons by screening novices.

Aviation security strongly depends on screeners' performance in the detection of threat objects in x-ray images of passenger bags. We examined for the first time the effects of stress and stress-induced cortisol increases on detection performance of hidden weapons in an x-ray baggage screening task. We randomly assigned 48 participants either to a stress or a nonstress group. The stress group was exposed to a standardized psychosocial stress test (TSST). Before and after stress/nonstress, participants had to detect threat objects in a computer-based object recognition test (X-ray ORT). We repeatedly measured salivary cortisol and X-ray ORT performance before and after stress/nonstress. Cortisol increases in reaction to psychosocial stress induction but not to nonstress independently impaired x-ray detection performance. Our results suggest that stress-induced cortisol increases at peak reactivity impair x-ray screening performance.

Based on Analysis of Fast Simulation Algorithm for Multi-Objective BVR Attacking Fire Control System

With the continuous improvement of fire control system functions to further improve the performance of missile weapons, combat aircraft requires BVR combat capability, multi-objective BVRAC will be the next major form of combat and trends. This article will fast simulation algorithm is applied to multi-target attack fire control system design, we propose a multi-target attack BVR fire control system design. Simulation results show that: the design of high precision, calculation speed, fully meet the requirements of real-time speed and airborne weapons systems.

개인화기 조준 능력 향상 관점에서의 추적 기법의 성능평가

본 논문에서는 실제 전장에서 전투수행 중인 병사의 개인화기 조준 능력 향상 관점에서 추적기법의 성능평가를 하였다. 실제 전장에서는 짧은 시간동안 전투를 하는 것뿐만 아니라 며칠에 걸쳐서 실시되는 경우도 있다. 이와 같이 장시간 지속되는 작전 중에서 다양한 요소에 의해서 지속적으로 병사의 신체능력이 감소된다. 이렇게 손실되는 신체능력을 보완하기 위하여 시각추적 기술을 화기의 조준경에 적용하여 적 병사 이동상황을 자동적으로 추적하고 이로 인해 감소된 조준능력을 향상시키기 위한 실험을 하였다. 최신영상 추적 기법들 중에서 최적의 것을 결정하기 위하여, 겹침 현상, 카메라 이동, 크기변화, 저대비 영상, 조명변화 등의 특징이 포함된 여러 실제 전장 영상으로 그 성능을 평가하였다. VTD (Visual Tracking Decomposition)[2]가 정확도에서 IVT (Incremental learning for robust Visual Tracking)[7]가 속도 평가에서 가장 우수하였으며 종합적으로는 MIL (Multiple Instance Learning)[1]이 가장 우수한 결과를 보여 주었다. 이러한 성능평가 결과는 시각추적기술이 적용된 조준경이 실제 전장에서 전투수행을 하면서 신체능력이 감소된 병사의 전투력을 보완할 가능성이 있다는 것을 보여 준다. In this paper, an investigation of weapon tracking performance is shown in regard to improving individual weapon performance of aiming objects. On the battlefield, a battle can last only a few hours, sometimes it can last several days until finished. In these long-lasting combats, a wide variety of factors will gradually lower the visual ability of soldiers. The experiments were focusing on enhancing the degraded aiming performance by applying visual tracking technology to roof mounted sights so as to track the movement of troops automatically. In order to select the optimal algorithm among the latest visual tracking techniques, performance of each algorithm was evaluated using the real combat images with characteristics of overlapping problems, camera's mobility, size changes, low contrast images, and illumination changes. The results show that VTD (Visual Tracking Decomposition)[2], IVT (Incremental learning for robust Visual Tracking)[7], and MIL (Multiple Instance Learning)[1] perform the best at accuracy, response speed, and total performance, respectively. The evaluation suggests that the roof mounted sights equipped with visual tracking technology are likely to improve the reduced aiming ability of forces.

The Accuracy Assessment of Weapon System Using Grey Linear Regression Method

The accuracy assessment of weapon system is always a complex engineering. How to make the most of the information given in only a few tests and obtain reasonable estimate is always a problem. Based on the fuzzy theory and grey theory, a grey linear regression method is presented. From the numerical example, we can see that this method provides an easy access to deal with data in small sample case and may have potential use in the analysis of weapon performance.

Cyber Attacks: When to Respond

The information age and the rise of the Internet have resulted in new and novel approaches to everyday activities of people around the world. The application of warfare is certainly no exception to this development. Both state and non-state actors are busy devising new ways of applying technology to carry out attacks on their adversaries, or prevent their adversaries from successfully attacking them. In the past, technology has been used merely to augment or improve the performance or capabilities of traditional military weapons and tools. However, with the increasing level of interconnected devices, attacks that operate purely through digital mediums are becoming increasingly effective.Traditionally, International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and the Laws of Armed Conflict (LOAC) have focused on the regulation and governance of kinetic, physical operations. The prospect of significant attacks being carried out through purely electronic means would have been pure fantasy a generation ago, and would not have been envisioned when IHL and LOAC were being developed. The traditional categorization of conflict and of participant action is stretched when applied beyond the physical world. It is the difficulty in categorizing participant action that must be addressed in order to ensure the protections that have been applied in historic conflicts are capable of being applied in the conflicts of the future.

Cryptic asymmetry: unreliable signals mask asymmetric performance of crayfish weapons

Animals commonly use their limbs as signals and weapons during territorial aggression. Asymmetries of limb performance that do not relate to asymmetries of limb size (cryptic asymmetry) could substantially affect disputes, but this phenomenon has not been considered beyond primates. We investigated cryptic asymmetry in male crayfish (Cherax dispar), which commonly use unreliable signals of strength during aggression. Although the strength of a chela can vary by an order of magnitude for a given size, we found repeatable asymmetries of strength that were only weakly related to asymmetries of size. Size-adjusted strength of chelae and the asymmetry of strength between chelae were highly repeatable between environmental conditions, suggesting that asymmetries of strength stemmed from variation in capacity rather than motivation. Cryptic asymmetry adds another dimension of uncertainty during conflict between animals, which could influence the evolution of unreliable signals and morphological asymmetry.

Interoperation between Engagement-and Engineering-level Models for Effectiveness Analyses

System effectiveness analyses are a longstanding challenge in defense modeling and simulation. While some techniques are accomplished through using an engagement-level model alone with given parameterized weapon performance data, this approach is prone to errors because of insufficient behavior information from the weapon systems. In order to overcome these limitations, engagement-level models should be supported by engineering-level models representing the detailed behavior of weapons. Hence, this paper proposes an interoperation approach between the engagement and engineering-level models. Our approach produces meaningful results in terms of various engagement tactic alternatives for the suitable performance of weapons under given situations, such as operational environments, operational errors, and so on. The proposed method is demonstrated through an anti-torpedo combat simulation, including the engagement and the engineering-level models. We perform experiments by varying tactical military scenarios or performance indices of decoy systems. Experimental results show suggestions for operational tactics and weapons specifications in order to meet requirements.

Measurement of Effectiveness for an Anti-torpedo Combat System Using a Discrete Event Systems Specification-based Underwater Warfare Simulator

Modeling and simulation (M&S) has long played an important role in developing tactics and evaluating the measure of effectiveness (MOE) for the underwater warfare system. In simulation-based acquisition, M&S technology facilitates decisions about future equipment procurements, such as a mobile decoy or a torpedo. In addition, assessment of submarine tactical development, during an engagement against a torpedo, can be conducted using M&S techniques. This paper presents a case study that applies discrete event systems specification-based M&S technology to develop a simulation of an underwater warfare system, specifically, an anti-torpedo combat system, to analyze the MOE of the system. The entity models required for M&S are divided into three sub-models: controller, maneuver, and sensor model. The developed simulation allows us to conduct a statistical evaluation of the overall underwater warfare system under consideration, an assessment of the anti-torpedo countermeasure’s effectiveness, and an assessment of tactics development of the underwater vehicle. Moreover, it can be utilized to support the decision-making process for future equipment procurements. In order to analyze the system effectiveness, we performed extensive combat experiments by varying parameters, such as various tactics and weapon performance. The experimental results show how the factors influence the MOEs of the underwater warfare system.

The International Symposium on Ballistics

The International Symposium on Ballistics

The fitness advantage of a high-performance weapon

Weapons used in combat between males are usually attributed to sexual selection, which operates via a fitness advantage for males with weapons of better ‘quality’. Because the performance capacity of morphological traits is typically considered the direct target of selection, Darwin’s intrasexual selection hypothesis can be modified to predict that variation in reproductive success should be explained by variation in performance traits relevant to combat. Despite such a straightforward prediction, tests of this hypothesis are conspicuously lacking. We show that territorial male collared lizards with greater bite-force capacity sire more offspring than weaker biting rivals but exhibit no survival advantage. We did not detect stabilizing or disruptive selection on bite-force capacity. Taken together, these results support the hypothesis that superior weapon performance provides a fitness advantage through increased success in male contests. Sexual selection on weapon performance therefore appears to be a force driving the evolution and maintenance of sexual dimorphism in head shape. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 96, 840‐845.

Analysis method on shoot precision of weapon in small-sample case

Because of limits of cost, in general, the test data of weapons are shortness. It is always an important topic that to gain scientific results of weapon performance analyses in small-sample case. Based on the analysis of distribution function characteristics and grey mathematics, a weighting grey method in small-sample case is presented. According to the analysis of test data of a weapon, it is proved that the method is a good method to deal with data in the small-sample case and has a high value in the analysis of weapon performance.

Small sample Bayesian analyses in assessment of weapon performance

Abundant test data are required in assessment of weapon performance. When weapon test data are insufficient, Bayesian analyses in small sample circumstance should be considered and the test data should be provided by simulations. The several Bayesian approaches are discussed and some limitations are founded. An improvement is put forward after limitations of Bayesian approaches available are analyzed and the improved approach is applied to assessment of some new weapon performance.

Gaping Displays Reveal and Amplify a Mechanically Based Index of Weapon Performance

Physical prowess, a key determinant of fight outcomes, is contingent on whole-organism performance traits. The advertisement of performance, via display, is poorly understood because it is unclear how information about performance is encoded into display characteristics. Previous studies have shown that weapon performance (i.e., bite force) predicts dominance and reproductive success in male lizards. We tested the hypothesis that gaping displays by adult male collared lizards (Crotaphytus) can provide an index of weapon performance by exposing the major jaw-adductor muscle complex and that white patches at the mouth corners amplify this index. For territorial adult males, the breadth of the muscle complex, which is not correlated with body size, was a strong predictor of bite force. For nonterritorial yearling males and females, however, measures of body and head size predicted bite force. The patches are highly conspicuous, exhibit UV-reflecting properties within the visual range of lizards, and provide size-independent information about bite force only in adult males. We conclude that exposure of the muscle complex during gaping displays can provide rival males with a reliable, body-size independent, biomechanically based index of weapon performance, an index that the mouth-corner patches amplify. Indexes that transmit information through mechanistic links to performance are expected to be widespread among animals.

Bite-Force Performance Predicts Dominance in Male Venerable Collared Lizards (Crotaphytus antiquus)

The evolution of exaggerated structures that function as weapons in sexually dimorphic species is often explained by intra-sexual selection related to male combat, as these structures are used in fights among males and can determine dominance during such interactions. In many lizard species, males have a larger head than females, a condition attributed to intra-sexual selection. Although head size has been shown to predict dominance in lizards, the way that head size influences dominance remains unclear. We staged interactions between body size-matched male Venerable Collared Lizards (Crotaphytus antiquus) in the laboratory to test the hypothesis that harder-biting males would be dominant over males with weaker bite-force performance. Winners of staged interactions bit significantly harder than losers, but no measured morphological trait was significantly different between winners and losers. This result indicates the strong role of weapon performance, as opposed to weapon morphology, in determining dominance.

Gaping Displays Reveal and Amplify a Mechanically Based Index of Weapon Performance

Gaping Displays Reveal and Amplify a Mechanically Based Index of Weapon Performance

Weapon Performance, Not Size, Determines Mating Success and Potential Reproductive Output in the Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus collaris)

In territorial polygynous taxa, reproductive success reflects phenotypic variation. Using Crotaphytus collaris, a sexually dimorphic lizard in which males use the head (i.e., jaws and associated musculature) as a weapon when territorial interactions escalate to fights, we tested the hypothesis that weapon performance (i.e., bite force) is a better predictor of fitness than body or weapon size. Bite-force performance predicted the number of female home ranges overlapped, estimated mating success, and potential reproductive output. However, no body or weapon size measure correlated with these estimates of fitness, and only one weapon dimension (head width) correlated with bite force. These results indicate that weapon performance has far stronger effects on fitness than body or weapon size, likely because it directly influences fight outcomes. As such, it is desirable that the use of morphology as a proxy for performance and its presumed extensions to fitness be based on empirical morphology-performance relationships.

Weapon Performance, Not Size, Determines Mating Success and Potential Reproductive Output in the Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus collaris)

In territorial polygynous taxa, reproductive success reflects phenotypic variation. Using Crotaphytus collaris, a sexually dimorphic lizard in which males use the head (i.e., jaws and associated musculature) as a weapon when territorial interactions escalate to fights, we tested the hypothesis that weapon performance (i.e., bite force) is a better predictor of fitness than body or weapon size. Bite‐force performance predicted the number of female home ranges overlapped, estimated mating success, and potential reproductive output. However, no body or weapon size measure correlated with these estimates of fitness, and only one weapon dimension (head width) correlated with bite force. These results indicate that weapon performance has far stronger effects on fitness than body or weapon size, likely because it directly influences fight outcomes. As such, it is desirable that the use of morphology as a proxy for performance and its presumed extensions to fitness be based on empirical morphology‐performance relationships.

Nuclear Pit Facility’s Merits, Snags, and Timelines

In the June 2004 issue of Physics Today, (page 34), Jim Dawson reports on the American Physical Society (APS) discussion paper, published in April 2004, about a modern pit facility. That paper evaluates an MPF based on an overly optimistic combination of assumptions that obviate the need for planning such a facility. A parametric evaluation of the stockpile plan recently delivered to Congress and the current estimates of pit lifetimes by the National Nuclear Security Administration weapon laboratories show that continuous planning for an MPF is prudent risk management to meet national security needs. 1 1. US Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Report to Congressional Defense Committees on “An Enhanced Schedule for the Modern Pit Facility, February 2004. Available at http://www.fcnl.org/pdfs/nuc_mpfreport.pdf. The NNSA advocates managing the risks to national security by uninterrupted planning for an MPF while obtaining further information for acquisition decisions. For example, initial results from accelerated pit-aging experiments and from the inevitable aging effects of plutonium on weapon performance are expected in 2007. The APS position paper advocates a high-risk approach of deferring or curtailing the MPF project until such information is available. The NNSA plan for an MPF includes a series of major system-acquisition critical decisions in 2007, in 2009, and at the start of construction in 2012. Based on the current plan, the Secretary of Energy will not be making irreversible decisions on constructing an MPF until early in the next decade. That is well beyond the 2006 minimum date suggested by the APS position paper for making such decisions.The APS paper is replete with examples of unrealistic optimism and factual errors. Some examples include discounting the challenges of upgrading production capacity to 80 pits per year at the Los Alamos National Laboratory TA-55 facility or rapidly enhancing production outputs in a future facility. Although a small capacity of 125 pits per year is the most likely path forward, the MPF environmental impact statement provides analyses for capacities of 125 to 450 pits per year, not because of a desire to maintain large stocks of undeployed warheads as suggested by the APS paper, but to ensure that the maximum potential environmental impacts of an MPF have been considered for National Environmental Policy Act compliance purposes. APS asserts that pits in storage at the Pantex plant in Amarillo, Texas, could be used as replacements and thus obviate the need for a new facility. However, that assertion lacks technical foundation because pits stored at Pantex will age similarly to pits that are stockpiled.Deferral of MPF planning, which was suggested in the APS paper, would negatively affect plans for a responsive pit manufacturing infrastructure that may be pivotal to further reducing the number of stockpile warheads—a cost-saving move for the nation. Similarly, the capability to manufacture replacement pits eliminates weapon-performance uncertainties that result from plutonium aging and is consistent with maintaining the moratorium on nuclear testing. Current plans afford numerous review opportunities until early in the next decade. National security for the US should be based on a prudent assessment of risks and not the overly optimistic and unrealistic evaluation contained in the APS position paper. Early planning and development are essential to avoid cost overruns and delays.REFERENCESection:ChooseTop of pageREFERENCE <<1. US Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Report to Congressional Defense Committees on “An Enhanced Schedule for the Modern Pit Facility, February 2004. Available at http://www.fcnl.org/pdfs/nuc_mpfreport.pdf. Google Scholar© 2005 American Institute of Physics.