Suchergebnisse

At the request of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, a RAND research team examined options to increase the mobility, protection, and firepower of the Army's airborne forces, given likely future missions and threats, identifying a concept for enhancing today's forces by adding a light armored infantry capability. Because the Army requested near-term options, the new concept incorporates equipment and platforms that are already available within the U.S. Department of Defense. The near-term focus also meant that the current Air Force airlift fleet was an important consideration, since Army airborne forces rely on Air Force transport aircraft to deploy. The research team examined notional future brigade- and battalion-sized airborne units, including the numbers and types of vehicles that would be needed to create an airborne light armored force that could be airdropped or air-landed from Air Force transport planes. The primary light armored vehicle possibilities studied were the Stryker (currently used by the Army) and the Light Armored Vehicle, second generation (LAV-II, used by the Marine Corps and the militaries of several other nations). Each family of vehicles would have advantages and disadvantages for the Army's airborne force, with the LAV-II provisionally identified as the preferred candidate. A tabletop exercise with subject-matter experts, using scenarios developed through a review of historical Army missions, identified how the addition of light armor could enhance the performance of airborne units

Vladimir Putin's decision to annex Crimea and attempt to destabilize eastern Ukraine have sparked widespread concern among Western policymakers that Russia has embarked on a confrontational national security policy that could have far-reaching implications for Russia's relations with the United States and for European stability. The annexation of Crimea challenges two basic assumptions underlying U.S. policy toward Europe in the post-Cold War era: (1) that Europe is essentially stable and secure, thereby freeing the United States to focus greater attention on other areas, particularly Asia and the Middle East, and (2) that Russia had become more of a partner than an adversary. The annexation of Crimea and attempt to destabilize eastern Ukraine suggests that both these assumptions need to be revisited because Russia can hardly be viewed as a partner. The requirement that NATO may now have to build a much more robust deterrence and defense posture in Eastern Europe would require the Army and the Air Force to revisit their planning assumptions that have minimized U.S. military commitments to the region since the end of the Cold War

Publicación online disponible en: http://www.icm.csic.es/scimar/index.php ; [EN] Data obtained over a period of twenty years from 214 bottom trawls, towed on a single warp at depths between 402 and 1993 m in the western Mediterranean (Algerian and Balearic basins) and eastern North Atlantic (Rockall Trough and Porcupine Seabight), allowed a standardised comparison of density, biomass composition and size-related structure for both the whole fish fauna and for the most common species found within the deep-sea fish assemblages. All four areas are characterised by distinctly different and well-documented oceanographic conditions, biogeographical affinities and fishing exploitation. The results showed clear differences between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean deep-sea fish fauna, not only in density, species richness and composition, but also in the structure of the biomass that constitutes these assemblages. These differences are discussed in relation to environmental conditions and fishing pattern, which have determined the adaptive responses of both individual species and the whole ecosystem. ; [ES] Los datos obtenidos a partir de 214 pescas de arrastre de fondo con un sólo cable, realizadas a lo largo de un período de veinte años en el Mediterráneo occidental (cuencas argelina y balear) y Atlántico nor-oriental (Rockall Trough y Porcupine Seabight), entre 402 y 1993 m de profundidad, han permitido una comparación estandarizada de la densidad y de la composición y estructura de tamaños de la biomasa, tanto del conjunto de la ictiofauna como de las principales especies comunes en estas comunidades ícticas de gran profundidad. Estas cuatro áreas se caracterizan por diferencias, ampliamente documentadas, en sus condiciones oceanográficas, afinidades bio-geográficas y de explotación pesquera. Los resultados han mostrado claras diferencias entre la ictiofauna profunda atlántica y mediterránea, no sólo en términos de densidad, riqueza específica y composición, sino también en la estructura de la biomasa que compone estas comunidades. Estas diferencias se discuten en relación con las condiciones medio-ambientales y de explotación pesquera, las cuales han determinado las respuestas adaptativas, tanto de las especies individuales como del conjunto del ecosistema. ; Support for the analysis of the Atlantic data was obtained from the following European Commission projects: DGXIV Study Contract (92-10) "Biological parameters of deep-water fish species", MAST2-CT920033 and FAIR CT-95-655 "Developing deepwater fisheries: data for their assessment and for understanding their interaction with and impact on a fragile environment". This latter project also supported the studies in the Algerian basin, while those in the Balearic basin were funded by the Spanish research programs BATIMAR (PAC86-008/ID821) and ZONAP (PB90-0166). The analysis of the data and the preparation of the paper was funded by a Spanish Government Studies License and a bursary from the Scottish Association for Marine Science. ; Peer reviewed