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Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > Weapons & equipment > General
Lethal autonomous weapons are weapon systems that can select and
destroy targets without intervention by a human operator. Fighting
Machines explores the relationship between lethal autonomous
weapons (LAWS), the concept of human dignity, and international
law. Much of this analysis speaks to three fundamental and related
problems: When a LAWS takes a human life, is that killing a
violation of human dignity? Can states and non-state actors use
LAWS in accordance with international law? And are there certain
responsibilities of human decision-making during wartime that we
should not delegate to machines? In the book, Dan Saxon argues that
the use of LAWS to take human life constitutes a violation of human
dignity. Rather than concentrating on the victims of the use of
lethal force, Saxon instead focuses on the technology and relevant
legal principles and rules to advance several propositions. First,
as LAWS operate at increasingly greater speeds, their use will
undermine the opportunities for, and the value of, human reasoning
and judgment. Second, by transferring responsibility for reasoning
and judgment about the use of lethal force to computer software,
the use of LAWS violates the dignity of the soldiers, commanders,
and law enforcement officers who historically have made such
decisions, and, therefore, breaches international law. Third,
weapon designs that facilitate teamwork between humans and
autonomous systems are necessary to ensure that humans and LAWS can
operate interdependently so that individuals can fulfil their
obligations under international law—including the preservation of
their own dignity—and ensure that human reasoning and judgment
are available for cognitive functions better suited to humans than
machines. Fighting Machines speaks to the fields of international
humanitarian law, human rights, criminal law, and legal philosophy.
It will also be of interest to non-lawyers, especially military
officers, government policy makers, political scientists, and
international relations scholars, as well as roboticists and
ethicists.
Drawing upon the latest literary and archaeological research, this
is an in-depth study of the Roman Army units based in the Eastern
Provinces during the turbulent third century of the Roman Empire.
In this book, eminent Roman historian, Dr Raffaele D'Amato, looks
at the notoriously under-represented history of the Roman armies
during the middle 3rd Century whose records have been obscured by
the chaotic civil wars of that period between usurpers to the
Imperial authority of Rome. Following on from the previous title,
MAA 527, Roman Army Units in the Western Provinces (2): 3rd Century
AD, this book considers the evidence for troops in the Eastern half
of the Empire specifically around the Balkans, Mesopotamia, the
Middle East and North Africa and looks at the weakness of Imperial
central authority which inevitably led to local particularism and a
wide range of appearance in regional commands. Dr D'Amato uses
literary, painted, sculptural and archaeological sources to
reconstruct this little-understood period of Roman military history
and, with the aid of meticulous coloured artwork, photos and
detailed charts, reconstructs the appearance and campaigns of the
Roman forces stationed in the East.
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The Longbow
(Paperback)
Mike Loades; Illustrated by Peter Dennis
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R452
R408
Discovery Miles 4 080
Save R44 (10%)
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An iconic medieval missile weapon, the deadly longbow made possible
the English victories at Crecy and Poitiers at the height of the
Hundred Years' War. The longbow was the weapon at the heart of the
English military ascendancy in the century after 1340. Capable of
subjecting the enemy to a hail of deadly projectiles, the longbow
in the hands of massed archers made possible the extraordinary
victories enjoyed by English forces over superior numbers at Crecy
and Poitiers, and remained a key battlefield weapon throughout the
Wars of the Roses and beyond. It also played a leading role in
raiding, siege and naval warfare. Its influence and use spread to
the armies of Burgundy, Scotland and other powers, and its
reputation as a cost-effective and easily produced weapon led to
calls for its widespread adoption among the nascent armies of the
American Republic as late as the 1770s.
The English Civil Wars tore families and friendships apart, setting
father against son and brother against brother. Raging across
England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, the conflict was the greatest
political upheaval in the British Isles in six hundred years, and
led directly to the execution of King Charles I in 1649. Keith
Dowen tells the absorbing story of the arms and armour of the civil
wars, and demonstrates how emerging weaponry contributed to some of
the most well-known battles in British history. The book forms part
of a series of introductions to aspects of the Royal Armouries'
collection of arms and armour. Written by specialists in the field,
they are packed full of fascinating information and stunning
photography. Royal Armouries is the national museum of arms and
armour, with sites at Leeds, the Tower of London and Fort Nelson,
Hampshire.
The first of two volumes on the legendary P.08 Luger (Pistole
Parabellum), this illustrated book presents the design,
manufacturing, and development of the various models from 1900
through the Weimar Republic period of the 1920s. Adopted by the
Swiss in 1901 and then by the German army, the Luger would remain
in service until the beginning of World War II and see use in the
postwar East Germany, as well as many other nations throughout the
world. Details include close-up views of markings, as well as a
serial numbers list, and a visual breakdown of the weapon.
Accessories such as magazines, ammunition, holsters, and cleaning
kits are featured throughout the book, as well as rarely seen
combat-related uniform and equipment items.
An unforgettable story of discovery and unimaginable destruction
and a major biography of one of America's most brilliant--and most
divisive--scientists, "Robert Oppenheimer: A Life Inside the
Center" vividly illuminates the man who would go down in history as
"the father of the atomic bomb." Oppenheimer's talent and drive
secured him a place in the pantheon of great physicists and carried
him to the laboratories where the secrets of the universe revealed
themselves. But they also led him to contribute to the development
of the deadliest weapon on earth, a discovery he soon came to fear.
His attempts to resist the escalation of the Cold War arms
race--coupled with political leanings at odds with post-war
America--led many to question his loyalties, and brought down upon
him the full force of McCarthyite anti-communism. Digging deeply
into Oppenheimer's past to solve the enigma of his motivations and
his complex personality, Ray Monk uncovers the extraordinary,
charming, tortured man--and the remarkable mind--who fundamentally
reshaped the world.
Given recent controversies over suspected WMD programs in
proliferating countries, there is an increasingly urgent need for
effective monitoring and verification regimes-the international
mechanisms, including on-site inspections, intended in part to
clarify the status of WMD programs in suspected proliferators. Yet
the strengths and limitations of these nonproliferation and arms
control mechanisms remain unclear. How should these regimes best be
implemented? What are the technological, political, and other
limitations to these tools? What technologies and other innovations
should be utilized to make these regimes most effective? How should
recent developments, such as the 2015 Iran nuclear deal or Syria's
declared renunciation and actual use of its chemical weapons,
influence their architecture? The Politics of Weapons Inspections
examines the successes, failures, and lessons that can be learned
from WMD monitoring and verification regimes in order to help
determine how best to maintain and strengthen these regimes in the
future. In addition to examining these regimes' technological,
political, and legal contexts, Nathan E. Busch and Joseph F. Pilat
reevaluate the track record of monitoring and verification in the
historical cases of South Africa, Libya, and Iraq; assess the
prospects of using these mechanisms in verifying arms control and
disarmament; and apply the lessons learned from these cases to
contemporary controversies over suspected or confirmed programs in
North Korea, Iran, and Syria. Finally, they provide a
forward-looking set of policy recommendations for the future.
A study of the archer and his weapon from the 11th to the 15th
century, focusing on military tactics but also exploring the
archer's position in society. It is a delight to read a book which
recognises the importance of warfare in medieval
times...also...discusses the changing role of the archer in
medieval society. SIR STEVEN RUNCIMAN This book traces the
historyof the archer in the medieval period, from the Norman
Conquest to the Wars of the Roses. From a close study of early
evidence, the author shows that the archer's role before the time
of Edward I was an important but rarely documented one, and that
his new prominence in the fourteenth century was the result of
changes in development of military tactics rather than the
introduction of the famous "longbow". A second thread of the book
examines the archer's role in society, with particular reference to
that most famous of all archers, Robin Hood. The final chapters
look at the archer in the early fifteenth century and then
chronicle the rise of the handgun as the major infantryweapon at
the bow's expense. JIM BRADBURY writes and lectures on battles and
warfare in England and France in the Middle Ages.
Soldiers in today's modern armies have access to ever more advanced
infantry weapons; lighter, more compact and more accurate than
anything seen in the last century. These include combat pistols,
personal assault rifles, sub-machine guns, sniper rifles, shotguns,
light machine guns and squad automatic weapons. Infantry Small Arms
of the 21st Century features all these weapons and more in
exhaustive detail. The author draws on the operational combat
experience of the users in war zones such as Iraq, Afghanistan and
Ukraine. As well as assessing and comparing the potency of
different nations weapon systems , the book looks to the future
demands of the infantry man. As in the case of the author's
previous work Guns of Special Forces 2001-2015, the result is an
affordable, comprehensive and authoritative study of modern
infantry weapons.
This book examines Western military technological innovation
through the lens of developments in small arms during the twentieth
century. These weapons have existed for centuries, appear to have
matured only incrementally and might seem unlikely technologies for
investigating the trajectory of military-technical change. Their
relative simplicity, however, makes it easy to use them to map
patterns of innovation within the military- industrial complex.
Advanced technologies may have captured the military imagination,
offering the possibility of clean and decisive outcomes, but it is
the low technologies of the infantryman that can help us develop an
appreciation for the dynamics of military-technical change. Tracing
the path of innovation from battlefield to back office, and from
industry to alliance partner, Ford develops insights into the way
that small arms are socially constructed. He thereby exposes the
mechanics of power across the military- industrial complex. This in
turn reveals that shifting power relations between soldiers and
scientists, bureaucrats and engineers, have allowed the private
sector to exploit infantry status anxiety and shape soldier weapon
preferences. Ford's analysis allows us to draw wider conclusions
about how military innovation works and what social factors
The story of arms in Western Europe from the Renaissance to the
Industrial Revolution. A treasury of information based on solid
scholarship, anyone seeking a factual and vivid account of the
story of arms from the Renaissance period to the Industrial
Revolution will welcome this book. The author chooses as his
starting-point the invasion of Italy by France in 1494, which sowed
the dragon's teeth of all the successive European wars; the French
invasion was to accelerate the trend towards new armaments and new
methods of warfare. The authordescribes the development of the
handgun and the pike, the use and style of staff-weapons, mace and
axe and war-hammer, dagger and dirk and bayonet. He shows how
armour attained its full Renaissance splendour and then suffered
itssorry and inevitable decline, culminating in the Industrial
Revolution, with its far-reaching effects on military armaments.
Above all, he follows the long history of the sword, queen of
weapons, to the late eighteenth century, when it finally ceased to
form a part of a gentleman's every-day wear. Lavishly illustrated.
EWART OAKESHOTT was one of the world's leading authorities on the
arms and armour of medieval Europe. His other works on the subject
include Records of the Medieval Sword and The Sword in the Age of
Chivalry.
From September 1940 until May 1941, Britain - especially Greater
London - suffered heavily under a barrage of day and night-time
raids by the then mighty Luftwaffe; raids which killed some 20,000
people and destroyed or damaged one million homes during what came
to be known as the London Blitz. A baby blitz' followed, from
January to May 1944, which was destined to be the final manned
bomber offensive by a much depleted Luftwaffe. Afterwards, there
came the last gasp, the final blitz on London, this time delivered
by the V1 flying bombs and V2 rockets which were aimed at the
capital. Overall, the V weapons killed or seriously injured 31,000
in London and destroyed or seriously damaged 1.6 million houses
throughout Britain. Yet despite all this, British industry, economy
and morale remained largely intact. Group Captain Nigel Walpole
grew up in London during the Blitz and he has traced the full
history of the V1 'doodlebugs' and V2 rockets that terrorised so
many at this time. He looks at the infamous missile development
site at Peenemunde and the engineers who brought Hitler's horrific
visions to life. He reports his vivid memories of the three Blitz
campaigns and the countermeasures taken in response to them. Having
been granted direct access to the history of the V weapons, he
describes the evolution, development, production deployment and
launch of the flying bombs and rockets. Whilst acknowledging the
terrible damage inflicted by these weapons, Nigel also recognises
them as an example of Germany's extraordinary capacity for
innovation and determination during one of the darkest periods of
world history.
This work presents in detail the uniforms of the foot artillery
between 1786 and 1815. Formal in style, and indeed austere, the
uniforms illustrated here were the very ones worn by those who
participated in during the most crucial and of the Empire. (71
plates including 29 by Ludovic Letrun) An important part of the
book is devoted to the detailed description of equipment
(artillery, ammunitions, front axle units, forges, etc.). Developed
and used by the gunners ever since the reforms of Mr. Gribeauval,
his construction tables provide a clear presentation of primary
artillery as well as the basic tactics employed by the Army.
This spectacular collection of nearly 200 jewelled weapons and
priceless accoutrements from the Indian subcontinent was assembled
over many decades by Sheikh Nasser and Sheikha Hussah al-Sabah for
The al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait. Produced for aristocratic patrons
who valued the arts, these richly decorated edged weapons and other
princely objects bear witness to the legendary opulence and
refinement of the Indian courts during the sixteenth to the
nineteenth centuries. Many incorporate decorative features
originating in Central Asia, the Iranian world, China, and even
Renaissance Europe, testifying to centuries of trade, travel and
warfare. At the same time, these ornate and uniquely Indian weapons
are masterpieces of a long and unparalleled tradition of artistic
craftsmanship on the subcontinent, displaying distinctive
techniques of gemstone setting, hardstone carving, enamelling and
blade damascening.
Are we afraid of war? Has the advancement of military technology
created a mindset of invincibility on the battlefield? In War X,
Tim Blackmore argues that the technology of warfare has essentially
erased the human body from battlespace. The result is a physical
and psychological distance between humanity and bloodshed. As the
machinery of war develops, and as advances are made in the
biological sciences, war becomes increasingly palatable -
attractive, even - resulting in a sanitized murder culture in which
war is anticipated and viewed with little anxiety. Blackmore makes
connections between human beings in battle and the very different
world of weapons manufacturers, finding between the two a romance
of war technology. Using popular science fiction literature and
film, personal war narratives, biographies, and military imagery,
he explores the human body in war, the ways in which soldiers
imagine themselves superhuman - posthuman - protected by the armour
of muscles and steel, tanks and helicopters, robotics and remote
control. War X is an explosive introduction to the discussion of
modern warfare and a timely consideration of industrial warfare as
it is unfolding even now in Iraq and Afghanistan, and as it might
be in the future, with new weapon development. It is also a
deliberation on the startling world of new weapon development, and
the indescribable future of war that beckons.
Americas famous and influential WWII submachine guns (SMGs) are all
featured in this fully illustrated book. Beginning with the
legendary Thompson submachine, its design, construction, and
testing in the early 1920s, as well as its use by the US Marine
Corps, the Irish Republican Army, and Prohibition-era gangsters,
are presented in detail. Its famed use during WWII in all war
theaters is shown in superb period photography and clear, up-close
color images. Also featured are chapters on other US WWII era
submachine guns: the M3 Grease Gun, Reising SMG, and the United
Defense M42 (UD M42). Accessories such as magazines, ammunition,
webbing, and cleaning kits are featured throughout the book, as
well as rarely seen WWII-related uniform and equipment items.
The idea of late medieval arms and armour often conjures up images
of lumbering warriors, clad in heavy plate armour, hacking away at
with each other with enormous weapons - depictions perpetuated in
both bad literature and bad movies. In this introductory guide,
replete with fabulous photography and marvellous anecdotes,
internationally-renowned edged weapons expert Robert Woosnam-Savage
describes the brutal reality of personal protection and attack in
the so-called 'age of chivalry'. From Bannockburn to Bosworth,
Poitiers to Pavia, this book is an indispensable introduction to an
iconic era.
Exploring a variety of ways of thinking ethically about drone
violence.The violent use of armed, unmanned aircraft ('drones') is
increasing worldwide, but uncertainty persists about the moral
status of remote-control killing and why it should be restrained.
Practitioners, observers and potential victims of such violence
often struggle to reconcile it with traditional expectations about
the nature of war and the risk to combatants. Addressing the
ongoing policy concern that state use of drone violence is
sometimes poorly understood and inadequately governed, the book's
ethical assessments are not restricted to the application of
traditional Just War principles, but also consider the ethics of
artificial intelligence (AI), virtue ethics, and guiding principles
for forceful law-enforcement. This edited collection brings
together nine original contributions by established and emerging
scholars, incorporating expertise in military ethics, critical
military studies, gender, history, international law and
international relations, in order to better assess the
multi-faceted relationship between drone violence and justice.
The rapid evolution of radio and radar systems for military use
during World War II, and devices to counter them, led to a
technological battle that neither the Axis nor the Allied powers
could afford to lose. The result was a continual series of thrusts,
parries, and counter-thrusts, as first one side then the other
sought to wrest the initiative in the struggle to control the
ether. This was a battle fought with strange-sounding
weapons-"Freya," "Mandrel," "Boozer," and "Window"-and
characterized by the bravery, self-sacrifice, and skill of those
who took part in it. During the war, however, and for many years
after, electronic-warfare systems and their employment during the
conflict remained closely guarded military secrets. When that veil
of secrecy was finally lifted, the technicalities of the subject
helped ensure that it remained beyond the reach of many lay
researchers and readers.Long regarded as a standard reference work,
Instruments of Darkness has been expanded and completely revised.
Never before have so many possessed the means to be so lethal. The
diffusion of modern technology (robotics, cyber weapons, 3-D
printing, autonomous systems, and artificial intelligence) to
ordinary people has given them access to weapons of mass violence
previously monopolized by the state. In recent years, states have
attempted to stem the flow of such weapons to individuals and
non-state groups, but their efforts are failing. As Audrey Kurth
Cronin explains in Power to the People, what we are seeing now is
an exacerbation of an age-old trend. Over the centuries, the most
surprising developments in warfare have occurred because of
advances in technologies combined with changes in who can use them.
Indeed, accessible innovations in destructive force have long
driven new patterns of political violence. When Nobel invented
dynamite and Kalashnikov designed the AK-47, each inadvertently
spurred terrorist and insurgent movements that killed millions and
upended the international system. That history illuminates our own
situation, in which emerging technologies are altering society and
redistributing power. The twenty-first century "sharing economy"
has already disrupted every institution, including the armed
forces. New technologies are transforming access to the means of
violence. Just as importantly, higher-order functions that
previously had been under state military control (mass
mobilization, force projection, and systems integration) no longer
are. Cronin closes by focusing on how to respond so that we both
preserve the benefits of emerging technologies yet reduce the
risks. Power is flowing to the people, but the same technologies
that empower can imperil global security, unless we act
strategically.
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