Defence Academy of the United Kingdom

ABSTRACT Vehicular Communication Networks (VCNs) are essential for autonomous vehicles and Intelligent Transportation Systems but face challenges in security vulnerabilities and data sparsity. Traditional attack models inadequately represent VCN dynamics, weakening threat detection, while existing datasets lack real-world mobility and spatiotemporal details. This study addresses these gaps by developing a comprehensive attack simulation framework, enhancing critical network attacks i.e. position spoofing, Sybil, and wormhole through realistic mobility patterns, positional dynamics, and temporal interactions. The resulting dataset contains legitimate and malicious instances: Spoofing (45,975 legitimate, 589 malicious), Wormhole (52,237 legitimate, 5,219 malicious), and Sybil (14,829 legitimate, 1,753 malicious). It includes essential vehicular-specific features such as mobility dynamics, inter-vehicle distances, and end-to-end communication patterns. For validation, machine learning algorithms, including Random Forest, K-Nearest Neighbors, and Logistic Regression were employed. Detection performance was evaluated using accuracy, precision, recall, and two F1-score variants (standard and macro). Results indicate high detection efficacy, with Random Forest achieving accuracy between 93.6% and 99.8% and F1-macro scores from 88.5% to 97.7%. Compared to previous studies lacking spatiotemporal considerations, our dataset’s enhanced realism demonstrates significant potential in advancing data-driven anomaly detection and real-world threat mitigation in dynamic vehicular environments.

ABSTRACT On the 6 November 1972, detailed orders were issued by HQ United Kingdom Land Forces for the removal of major national art treasures from London in the event of a nuclear attack on the UK. The codeword METHODICAL was given to this operation. Lessons for evacuating significant works of art from London during the Second World War had been adapted and expanded for re-use during the Cold War, which also saw considerations for collections in both Edinburgh and Cardiff. Given that the international security context has shifted back towards competition and state-on-state conflict from one of international terrorism and state failure in the post-Cold War era, perhaps now is the time to reconsider how nationally important artworks and collections can be safeguarded and their security integrated into homeland defence planning.

Smokeless powders (SLPs) are easily available energetic materials that are often used in the construction of improvised explosive devices. Following a bombing incident, hand swabs are routinely collected from persons of interest (POIs) to assess potential SLP handling. However, the evidential significance of analytical findings remains difficult to assign due to the lack of systematic data on residue transfer. This study aimed to address this gap by determining the quantities transferred to hands (qT) of three common SLP additives - diphenylamine (DPA), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and ethyl centralite (EC) - following direct handling of bulk samples, with the specific goal of enabling the estimation of expected qT ranges on a POI's hands under the hypothesis that they had handled SLP. A streamlined filter-and-shoot method was developed for residue collection and analysis, allowing direct chromatographic analysis without preconcentration steps. The results showed that qT values typically ranged from the high nanogram to low microgram level, with DBP exhibiting the highest values and EC the lowest, mirroring their relative concentrations in the SLP formulations. The total mass of SLP handled (MSLP) and the handler variability (HID) were identified as significant factors influencing qT, whereas the type of SLP (TSLP) had a much weaker effect. Notably, a strong linear dependence between qT and MSLP was observed for all the three compounds. Based on these findings, regression models were developed to estimate expected qT ranges (including means and standard deviations) at different MSLP values, providing a practical tool to refine interpretation where information on the amount of SLP handled is available. By establishing empirical data on SLP residue transfer, this study fills a critical knowledge gap in the literature, enhancing the ability to assess the significance of forensic findings and ultimately contributing to more robust interpretations in cases involving suspected SLP handling.

The use of simulants is a crucial aspect of studying the behaviour and effects of chemical warfare agents (CWAs) and toxic industrial chemicals (TICs) without the inherent dangers associated with handling and utilising the actual hazardous substances. This review assesses the selection and application of simulants for different classes of CWAs, including nerve agents such as soman, V agents and blister agents such as sulphur and nitrogen mustards. Several simulants were examined, including diethyl malonate, malathion, methyl salicylate, and di (propylene glycol) monomethyl ether, to ascertain their structural and physiochemical properties, yet present minimal toxicity risks. A key insight from this review is the importance of aligning simulant physicochemical properties, such as hydrophobicity, volatility and solubility to those of CWAs. This ensures data relevancy in sampling accuracy and method validation. Our findings demonstrate the efficacy of utilising multiple simulants to model complex interactions within different environmental and forensic matrices, thereby enhancing the precision and reliability of detection and verification procedures. By concentrating on liquid-based simulants and excluding gaseous and solid agents, this review offers a focused assessment of existing sampling methodologies for liquid CWAs in field conditions. It concludes by proposing a unified approach to sampling standards that mitigates the risk with the objective of enhancing the practicality and reliability of detection methods while ensuring personnel safety. Furthermore, this review provides crucial insights for developing robust, field-deployable CWA sampling strategies that strike a balance between accuracy, accessibility and low toxicity.

Education is broadly acknowledged to be crucial for confronting and mitigating emergent global crises. Government-run strategic-level security and defence courses (SSDCs) are a key mechanism for achieving this, as they provide strategic thinking skills to hand-picked cohorts of security elites. However, scholarly research on SSDCs is both scarce and heavily skewed towards staff perspectives. This article mitigates and redresses deficiencies in scholarly and practitioner literature on the professional education of security elites. It achieves this by contrasting perspectives from existing literature with perspectives of students themselves, gained from an online survey of 753 alumni across thirty-four SSDCs, which asked: ‘What do you believe are the three most important requirements for a successful teaching and learning environment at the “senior defence college” level?’ It provides an empirical validation of the degree to which conclusions within practitioner-led SSDC scholarship and wider andragogical scholarship align with the educational preferences of security elites. The findings highlight the potential importance of high-quality human resources, contingent constructivist pedagogies, relevant content, a learning environment that encourages freedom of expression and diversity of perspective, suitable academic resources and support mechanisms, and appropriate motivational incentives.

ABSTRACTUnderstanding the decomposition of nitrocellulose (NC) and other nitrate esters within storage and usage temperature ranges is essential for managing the service life and safety of (NC)‐containing formulations. High‐temperature decomposition studies often fail to reflect typical storage conditions due to temperature‐dependent mechanisms. This study uses chemiluminescence nitrogen oxides (NOx) analysers to examine NC decomposition, measuring NOx evolution across a wide temperature range. From 20°C to 135°C, decomposition modes include thermolysis, hydrolysis, and physical desorption. Results show NOx can desorb from NC at ambient temperatures, potentially misleading traditional stability tests. The quantity of NOx generated depends on material history and can be reduced by pre‐test procedures. While thermolysis dominates at higher temperatures with an activation energy of 140 kJ.mol−1, hydrolysis is predominant at lower temperatures with an activation energy of 46 kJ.mol−1. This low activation energy should be considered in any life assessment predictions. In this lower temperature regime, moisture significantly affects decomposition rates, especially below 50°C. Whilst the rate increases in the presence of moisture, the activation energy for the hydrolysis process is unaffected. Chemiluminescence NOx analysis has proven to be a powerful tool for studying the low‐temperature decomposition behaviours of NC and NC‐containing formulations. This innovative approach not only enhances the understanding of NC decomposition but also offers a more efficient and accurate method for assessing the stability of NC‐containing formulations.

ABSTRACTThere is significant interest in multistatic SAR image formation, due to the increased development of satellite constellations and UAV swarms for remote sensing applications. The exploitation of the finer resolution and wider coverage of these geometries has been shown to reduce the often‐impractical data collection requirements of 3D SAR imagery; this offers advantages such as improved target identification and the removal of layover artefacts. This paper presents a novel polarimetric generalisation of the SSARVI algorithm, which was previously developed to exploit sparse aperture multistatic collections for 3D SAR image formation. The new algorithm presented here, named the PolSSARVI algorithm, combines polarimetrically weighted interferograms for determining the 3D scatterer locations from sparse aperture polarimetric collections. The bistatic generalised Huynen fork polarimetric parameters are then determined for the multistatic PolSSARVI 3D SAR renderings. This new approach was tested on both simulated and experimental data. Experimental imagery was formed using measurements from the Cranfield GBSAR laboratory.

From September 2023 to March 2024 a field trial on a live manual demining site was conducted to test a new and innovative approach for the collection and analysis of operational data. The approach, titled the Clearance Data Model, involved the collection of sixty-six data attributes for each mine found. For the first time the mine itself would become the accountable unit of demining data, against which an expanded range of relevant attributes particular to that specific mine would be recorded. This novel approach represented a considerable expansion to the operational data collected concerning Victim Operated Explosive Devices such as mines, booby-traps and victim operated Improvised Explosive Devices from the field. Previously few if any details about individual accountable mines were collected. The trial proved that is it entirely practical to collect such levels of data without impeding operational efficiency. It also showed that such data has significant benefits for quantitative operational risk management, as well as overall operations and quality management. For example, the recording of mine depth alongside excavation times enables oversight of individual excavation speed and management of any risk identified.