David J. Purdy
The current interest in mounting large calibre guns in light-weight vehicles has forced designers to re-examine conventional gun-mounting practice. It has been commonly accepted that stabilising an out-of-balance (OOB) gun on a moving platform is very difficult, or impossible, to achieve. Using a simple Main Battle Tank (MBT) elevation model, a theoretical investigation is undertaken into the effect of not having the trunnion axis aligned with the centre of gravity of the elevating mass. The effect of varying amounts of OOB on the angular motion of the gun and power requirements are examined and the improvemnts using MBT hull motion disturbance feedforward are investigated.
Wayne S.R. Hobbs, Greg J. Chalmers, Dmitri D. Sivan and Phil J. Davies
This paper outlines the development of an analytical methodology for Australia’s soldier modernisation program, Project LAND 125 – Soldier Combat System (Project WUNDURRA). The methodology utilises a combination of field studies and modelling in what has been termed the Soldier Combat System ‘Battlelab’. Aspects of this methodology are discussed including the identification of system variables, development of a hierarchy of performance measures, and the investigation of modelling tools and field trial techniques. Initial impressions of technologies utilised by soldiers during field studies are also given. The paper concludes with a discussion of potential Soldier Combat System enhancement options and an outline of work to be conducted during the next Phase of the Project.
T. Andrew Au, William D. Blair and Rittwik Jana
It is not uncommon for software components of an application to reside on a number of diverse computers and operating systems. The Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) is a middleware technology that simplifies or helps in the construction of such an application by providing standardised mechanisms that distributed components can use to communicate over a network. Applying CORBA to C4I problems in the military environment can provide simple integration of legacy software and COTS software, thereby fulfilling the operational requirements of modern battlefield interoperability. This paper discusses the mechanisms of CORBA in supporting distributed applications, and investigates the communications performance issues of CORBA in the military tactical environment. Although the potential of CORBA is wide and varied, supporting CORBA may become a burden to the tactical communications infrastructure without careful management of access to remote objects.
David R. Wilton
The traditional model for managing databases in military command support systems consists of local databases updated by user-originated messages, with no attempt at system-wide management or synchronisation. This approach is fraught with difficulties and can result in data inconsistencies. This paper examines the requirements for managing distributed databases in command support systems, and then describes the technologies available to meet the requirements. A recent military distributed database paradigm (model-based battle command) is introduced.
Stuart J. Anderson, Bevan D. Bates and Mark A. Tyler
The pace of modern military operations and the over-the-horizon range capability of many weapons systems impose heavy demands on real-time surveillance and intelligence support. For operations in the littoral zone, there is a clear requirement for a relocatable, shore-based sensor which can provide reliable all-weather detection of small surface and aerial targets of interest out to ranges in excess of 100 kilometres from the coast. HF surface-wave radar (HFSWR) may well provide the most cost-effective solution to this requirement, given the results of recent trials of an experimental system developed by the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) in conjunction with Telstra Applied Technologies and the Cooperative Research Centre for Sensor Signal and Information Processing in Adelaide. This project, code-named ‘Iluka’, involved the design and deployment of an HFSWR near Darwin, together with support from various elements of the ADF and other agencies which provided information on air and surface movements of cooperating platforms as well as civilian ‘targets of opportunity’ within the area monitored by the radar. In this paper we review the technology of HFSWR and discuss its capabilities and limitations in the context of littoral warfare.
