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This paper reviews the failure mechanisms that occur when a projectile penetrates a ceramic armour. The advantages and disadvantages of using a ceramic-based system are presented and the application of the different ceramics available is discussed.
This paper reviews the features of armoured vehicles that have been designed or adapted to wade through water up to five metres deep. The problems facing the designer are highlighted, including water exclusion, air supply, heat rejection, underwater navigation and mobility. The operational difficulties facing the crew are discussed, including the need for extensive vehicle preparation immediately prior to deep wading.
Effective Command and Control Systems depend upon timely and consistent information exchange between headquarters and operational units. Information can be sent and received by a wide range of systems and in an ideal world everyone would have the same system, the same database, the same operating system, the same computing platform, and so on - thus making information exchange much easier to achieve. However, that is not the case and it would be only the most optimistic of person who would acknowledge that this could ever be achieved, particularly in allied and combined operations. This short paper introduces the concept of interoperability using message text formats (MTF) as defined by the NATO standard ADatP-3 (Allied Data Publications number 3), Australian ADFORM (Australian Defence Formatted Message) or US MTF (United States Message Text Formats). In order to do this it is necessary to explain what is meant by interoperability in terms of unambiguous information exchange. As an example, from time to time, use is made of the Systematic COTS product IRIS. IRIS has been accepted by NATO as a product capable of preparing and validating ADatP-3 messages and in the USA has been approved for inclusion in the DII-COE (Defence Information Infrastructure – Common Operating Environment) as well as being approved for US MTF 97, 98 and 99. By using modern software products like IRIS, the problem of interoperability can be resolved using formatted messages.
As the pace of modern battle has increased, headquarter staffs have had to process increasing volumes of information in a decreasing amount of time. Assistance in this critical task must be provided by computer-based command systems that can automate time-consuming tasks. However, conventional computer-based systems provide only limited assistance in the intellectual tasks of planning and decision making. Potential to assist in these areas is provided by artificial intelligence (AI), which is vaunted as the next great revolution in information processing. This paper addresses the potential roles of AI in battlefield command systems. AI is briefly introduced, as are the relevant command and control tasks. The potential roles of AI are then discussed for each of these tasks and three operating modes are proposed to provide a framework for the consideration of new AI applications as they are developed.
The application of new knowledge in food science and nutrition is important in ensuring that Service members are in peak physical and mental condition for warfighting. The Defence Nutrition Research Centre of the Australian Defence Science and Technology Organisation has conducted extensive research and development to determine the nutritional requirements of Australian Defence Force occupations. In this paper, three aspects of this research are discussed. Determining and Satisfying Nutritional Requirements: Mean daily energy expenditure of Australian Defence Force (ADF) members varied from 12 MJ (sedentary occupations) to 28 MJ (Special Forces selection) per man. New ration scales and ration packs have been devised to satisfy demonstrated nutritional needs. Hydration Requirements: Sweat rates of 1.0-1.5 L /h were found during infantry operations in hot/wet and hot/dry environments. An investigation of the value of a new system of water carriage and delivery in encouraging water intake found significant benefits, and no decrements associated with the new system. Ergogenic Aids: Some substances and techniques that enhance athletic performance (‘ergogenic aids’) show potential as aids to military performance. International co-operative and collaborative R& D is continuing on the safe and effective use of ergogenic aids in the military context.