Overwhelmed by Technology: How Did User Interface Failures on Board the USS Vincennes Lead to 290 Dead?
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An International Armed Conflict of Low Intensity
THE WAR REPORT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN: AN INTERNATIONAL ARMED CONFLICT OF LOW INTENSITY Aeria view of the Persian Gulf, © NASA DECEMBER 2019 I MILOŠ HRNJAZ THE GENEVA ACADEMY A JOINT CENTER OF Iranian Prime Minister, Mohammed Mosaddeq, pushed CLASSIFICATION OF THE CONFLICT for nationalization of the oil fields and the Shah signed The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of this decision. The response of the British was harsh as they Iran were engaged in an international armed conflict (IAC) saw oil from Iran as a strategic interest. Both Iranians and in June 2019 by virtue of Iran’s shooting down a US military the British expected the support of the US. The Americans drone and the alleged counter cyber-attack by the US. pushed Britain to cancel plans for a military invasion, so the British decided to look for alternative ways to overthrow Mosaddeq. The new US administration wasn’t impressed HISTORY OF THE CONFLICT with Mosaddeq either (especially his flirting with the USSR and the communist Tudeh Party of Iran), so it decided to BACKGROUND actively participate in his overthrow and arrest. This was It has been more than 160 years since the first Treaty perceived by Iranians as the ultimate betrayal by America of Friendship and Commerce was signed between Iran and the event played an important role in the development and the US, exactly 140 years since the first US warship of Iranian political identity and anti-Americanism since entered the Persian Gulf and almost 140 years since Iran then.5 Mosadeqq became the brave figure who represented (Persia) and the US established diplomatic relations.1 Since the fight for independent Iran, free from the influence of then, their relationship has oscillated between cooperation the West. -
Three Simulation Models of Naval Air Defense
Three Simulation Models of Naval Air Defense LTJG Baris Ozkan, Neil C. Rowe, LT Sharif H. Calfee, and John E. Hiles Institute for Modeling, Virtual Environments, and Simulation (MOVES) and Computer Science Department U.S. Naval Postgraduate School 833 Dyer Road, Monterey, CA 93943 [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] ABSTRACT Naval air defense is a critical facility for ship survivability and has been subject of a number of studies. We investigate here three different approaches to modeling it with computer software. One approach focuses on the problems of information processing and communication for the air-defense team, and is good for analyzing its efficiency. Another approach focuses on the inference of the nature of observed tracks, and is based on the novel psychological theory of conceptual blending. A third approach uses an expert-systems approach that can learn from experience and be more substantially automated than the other two approaches. Each approach has its own advantages: The first provides insights for organizing and managing air-defense personnel, the second provides insights into cognitive biases in analysis that should be examined during training, and the third suggests a way to mostly automate the air-defense process to save money. This work suggests the value of multiple simulations of the same process when that process is important to understand. BACKGROUND Naval air warfare is rapid and serious, and is a major focus of the operations of ships (Mairorano, Carr, and Bender, 1996). Air-defense teams of "watchstanders" must train extensively in search, detection, and classification of all aircraft and surface vessels within the operational area of a ship's "battle group" (coordinated group of ships). -
The Iranian Revolution in 1979
Demonstrations of the Iranian People’s Mujahideens (Warriors) during the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Dr. Ali Shariati, an Iranian leftist on the left. Ayatollah Khomeini on the right. The Iranian Revolution Gelvin, ch. 17 & 18 & other sources, notes by Denis Bašić The Pahlavi Dynasty • could hardly be called a “dynasty,” for it had only two rulers - Reza Shah Pahlavi (ruled 1926-1941) and his son Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (ruled 1941-1979). • The son came to power after his father was deposed by the Allies (the Russian and British forces) due to his alliance with the Nazi Germany. • The Allies reestablished the majlis and allowed the organization of trade unions and political parties in order to limit the power of the new shah and to prevent him from following his father’s independence course. • Much to the chagrin of the British and Americans, the most popular party proved to be Tudeh - the communist party with more than 100,000 members. • The second Shah’s power was further eroded when in 1951 Muhammad Mossadegh was elected the prime minister on a platform that advocated nationalizing the oil industry and restricting the shah’s power. • Iranian Prime Minister 1951–3. A prominent parliamentarian. He was twice Muhammad appointed to that office by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, after a Mossadegh positive vote of inclination by the 1882-1967 parliament. Mossadegh was a nationalist and passionately opposed foreign intervention in Iran. He was also the architect of the nationalization of the Iranian oil industry, which had been under British control through the Anglo- Iranian Oil Company (AIOC), today known as British Petroleum (BP). -
The Uss Vincennes Incident
92 HDR 2020, Nr. 2, 92–101. 1st Lt Viola Vincze THE USS VINCENNES INCIDENT A case study involving Autonomous Weapon Systems DOI: 10.35926/HDR.2020.2.6 ABSTRACT: The objective of the paper is to introduce the facts of the USS Vincennes incident in 1988 and examine how the deployment and use of an Autonomous Weapon System has influenced military decision-making in the specific case. As a result of misidentifi- cation of the contact and confusion on board, Vincennes (a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser outfitted with the Aegis Combat System) fired two radar-guided missiles and shot down a civilian airliner from Iranian territorial waters (in Iranian airspace) only minutes after the airliner’s take-off. Not one from the 290 passengers and crew on board survived. Several contradictory articles have been written on the incident from legal, political and scientific vantage points and this article attempts to strip these accounts of the emotional tone and look into the facts in order to establish how personnel and machine interacted during the events that eventually led to the tragedy and how similar incidents involving AWS could be avoided. KEYWORDS: International Law, Law of Armed Conflicts, Autonomous Weapon Systems, case study, scenario fulfilment, responsibility INTRODUCTION Today we can witness a lively, although not always well-informed debate on the deploy- ment of lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (AWS) during international armed conflicts (IACs). Their supporters and opponents are invoking various arguments regarding their use, but more often than not they tend to focus on the analysis of the Law of Attack1 as contained in the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC), most notably in Protocol I additional to the 1949 Ge- neva Conventions2 (Additional Protocol I), while paying less attention to the assessment of NATO documents and national military manuals on targeting, although these can be regard ed as the direct translations of the Law of Attack into the language of daily target selection and engagement. -
MIDRMA Board/13-WP/6 3/03/2014 International Civil Aviation
MIDRMA Board/13-WP/6 3/03/2014 International Civil Aviation Organization Middle East Regional Monitoring Agency Board Thirteenth Meeting (MIDRMA Board/13) (Bahrain, 9 –12 March 2014) Agenda Item 4: RVSM Monitoring and Related Technical Issues MID STATES MINIMUM MONITORING REQUIREMENTS (Presented by MIDRMA) SUMMARY The aim of this working paper is to address the RVSM Minimum Monitoring Requirements (MMR) applicable for each MIDRMA Member State. Action by the meeting is at paragraph 3. REFERENCES − ATM/AIM/SAR SG/13 Report − ICAO Doc 9547 − ICAO doc 9937 − ICAO Annex 6 Part I − MIDANPIRG/14 Report − MID RVSM SMR 2012-2013 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 The height-keeping performance of aircraft is a key element in ensuring the safe operations of RVSM airspace. The RVSM height monitoring standards are considered the minimum requirement needed to maintain the safety of operations in the RVSM designated airspace. 1.2 Upon changes to ICAO Annex 6, Operation of Aircraft, Parts I & II, applicable on 18 November 2010, the following standard was adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO): 7.2.7 The State of the Operator that has issued an RVSM approval to an operator shall establish a requirement which ensures that a minimum of two aeroplanes of each aircraft type grouping of the operator have their height-keeping performance monitored, at least once every two years or within intervals of 1000 flight hours per aeroplane, whichever period is longer. If an operator aircraft type grouping consists of a single aeroplane, monitoring of that aeroplane shall be accomplished within the specified period. -
Shooting Down Civilian Aircraft: Is There an International Law Brian E
Journal of Air Law and Commerce Volume 72 | Issue 3 Article 10 2007 Shooting down Civilian Aircraft: Is There an International Law Brian E. Foont Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.smu.edu/jalc Recommended Citation Brian E. Foont, Shooting down Civilian Aircraft: sI There an International Law, 72 J. Air L. & Com. 695 (2007) https://scholar.smu.edu/jalc/vol72/iss3/10 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at SMU Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Air Law and Commerce by an authorized administrator of SMU Scholar. For more information, please visit http://digitalrepository.smu.edu. SHOOTING DOWN CIVILIAN AIRCRAFT: IS THERE AN INTERNATIONAL LAW? BRIAN E. FOONT* TABLE OF CONTENTS PRO LO G U E .............................................. 696 INTRODUCTION ......................................... 697 I. BACKGROUND .................................... 698 A. PRESIDENT TITO'S LETTER ...................... 700 II. SOURCES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW ............ 701 III. POST-WORLD WAR II INCIDENTS ............... 704 A. SOVIET UNION-SHOOT DOWN OF FRENCH COMMERCIAL AIRLINER .......................... 704 B. CHINA-SHOOT DowN OF CATHAY PACIFIC FLIGHT ......................................... 705 C. BULGARIA-SHOOT DowN OF ISRAELI EL AL PASSENGER JET .................................. 705 D. ISRAEL-SHOOT DowN OF LIBYAN AIRLINES PASSENGER JET .................................. 706 E. SOVIET UNION-SHOOT DowN OF KOREAN AIRLINES PASSENGER JET (FLIGHT 902) .......... 707 F. SOVIET UNION-SHOOT DowN OF KOREAN AIRLINES PASSENGER JET (FLIGHT 007) AND ARTICLE 3 BIS TO THE CHICAGO CONVENTION .. 707 G. UNITED STATES-SHOOT DOWN OF IRANIAN AIRLINES PASSENGER JET (FLIGHT 655) .......... 711 * The Law Offices of Brian E. Foont, PLLC; LL.M., Georgetown University Law Center; J.D., American University Washington College of Law; B.A., University of Rochester. -
Winter 2020 Full Issue
Naval War College Review Volume 73 Number 1 Winter 2020 Article 1 2020 Winter 2020 Full Issue The U.S. Naval War College Follow this and additional works at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review Recommended Citation Naval War College, The U.S. (2020) "Winter 2020 Full Issue," Naval War College Review: Vol. 73 : No. 1 , Article 1. Available at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol73/iss1/1 This Full Issue is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Naval War College Review by an authorized editor of U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Naval War College: Winter 2020 Full Issue Winter 2020 Volume 73, Number 1 Published by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons, 2020 1 Naval War College Review, Vol. 73 [2020], No. 1, Art. 1 Cover Two modified Standard Missile 2 (SM-2) Block IV interceptors are launched from the guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG 70) during a Missile Defense Agency (MDA) test to intercept a short-range ballistic-missile target, conducted on the Pacific Missile Range Facility, west of Hawaii, in 2008. The SM-2 forms part of the Aegis ballistic-missile defense (BMD) program. In “A Double-Edged Sword: Ballistic-Missile Defense and U.S. Alli- ances,” Robert C. Watts IV explores the impact of BMD on America’s relationship with NATO, Japan, and South Korea, finding that the forward-deployed BMD capability that the Navy’s Aegis destroyers provide has served as an important cement to these beneficial alliance relationships. -
Uss "Vincennes"
S. Hao, 100-1085 INVESTIGATION IfTO THE DOWNING OF AN IRANIAN AIRLINER BY THE U.S.S. "VINCENNES" HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDREDTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION SEPTEMBER 8, 1988 Printed for the use of the Committee on Armed Services U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 90-853 WASHINGTON : 1989 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402 03o -" COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES SAM NUNN, Georgia, Chairman JOHN C. STENNIS, Mississippi JOHN W. WARNER, Virginia J. JAMES EXON, Nebraska STROM THURMOND, South Carolina CARL LEVIN, Michigan GORDON J. HUMPHREY, New Hampshire P)WARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts WILLIAM S. COHEN, Maine JEFF BINGAMAN, New Mexico DAN QUAYLE, Indiana ALAN J. DIXON, Illinois PETE WILSON, California JOHN GLENN, Ohio PHIL GRAMM, Texas ALBERT GORE, JR., Tennessee STEVEN D. SYMMS, Idaho TIMOTHY E. WIRTH, Colorado JOHN McCAIN, Arizona RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama ARNOLD L. PuNARO, Staff Director CAu M. SMrm, Staff Director for the Minority CHRISTINS COWART DAUTH, Chief Clerk (II) CONTENTS CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WITNESSES Page Fogarty, Rear Adm. William M., USN, Director of Policy and Plans, U.S. Central Command, and Head of the Investigation Team accompanied by Capt. George N. Gee, USN, Director, Surface Combat Systems Division, ice of the Chief of Naval Operations and Capt. Richard D. DeBobes, Legal Adviser and Legislative Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of S taff . .......................................................................................................................... 4 Kelly, Rear Adm. Robert J., USN, Vice Director for Operations, Joint Staff ..... 17 (III) INVESTIGATION INTO THE DOWNING OF AN IRANIAN AIRLINER BY THE U.S.S. -
Khamenei Uses Iraq War Anniversary to Reinforce Iranian Steadfastness by Omer Carmi
MENU Policy Analysis / Policy Alert Khamenei Uses Iraq War Anniversary to Reinforce Iranian Steadfastness by Omer Carmi Sep 22, 2020 Also available in Arabic ABOUT THE AUTHORS Omer Carmi Omer Carmi was a 2017 military fellow at The Washington Institute. Brief Analysis Rather than explicitly addressing Washington’s reactivation of sanctions, the Supreme Leader sought to convince domestic listeners that Iran can ‘resist’ external pressures and the latest COVID-19 wave on its own. upreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s speech at the annual Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) leadership S gathering tends to be closely analyzed by Iran watchers for good reason. As with his yearly Nowruz speeches, he often uses the event to signal domestic and foreign audiences about his approach to international affairs. Most famously, the emphasis on “heroic flexibility” in his 2013 speech foreshadowed Tehran’s signing of an interim nuclear agreement with the P5+1 a few weeks later and the adoption of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2015. Last year’s speech took a different tone—Khamenei expressed confidence that the regime could cope with U.S. pressure and warned that Washington’s goal was to eliminate the Islamic Republic’s revolutionary character and force it to conform with the American global order. In doing so, he essentially previewed months of Iranian defiance on regional and nuclear issues. This year, the setting changed once again. Iran is in the midst of a third wave of coronavirus with thousands of infections per day, and the renewed outbreak apparently convinced the regime to cancel Khamenei’s in-person speech before a large IRGC gathering. -
Iran Is Still Using Pseudo-Civilian Airlines to Resupply Assad by Farzin Nadimi
MENU Policy Analysis / PolicyWatch 2785 Iran Is Still Using Pseudo-Civilian Airlines to Resupply Assad by Farzin Nadimi Apr 13, 2017 Also available in Arabic ABOUT THE AUTHORS Farzin Nadimi Farzin Nadimi, an associate fellow with The Washington Institute, is a Washington-based analyst specializing in the security and defense affairs of Iran and the Persian Gulf region. Brief Analysis While some international sanctions against Iranian civil aviation have been lifted, Tehran's insistence on using Mahan Air and other companies to send personnel and weapons to Syria may jeopardize the industry's future. s the aviation community and international media fixate on recent Boeing and Airbus orders by Iranian A airlines, Tehran continues to quietly purchase secondhand aircraft and parts through smaller companies, actively circumventing terrorism-related sanctions against certain airlines and individuals. By combining military and civil aviation components, Iran seeks to bolster its regional airlift capability, but any companies associated with such activity -- even indirectly -- are putting themselves in the crosshairs of U.S. sanctions policy. THE 'SYRIAN EXPRESS' AIR BRIDGE T he Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force has long used pseudo-civilian resources to help Iran's allies in Syria. In addition to close support from Mahan Air (see next section), the IRGC has set up its own cover airlines and service companies to provide logistical assistance and boost revenue. The main airline operated by the IRGC and its Pars Aviation Company is Pouya Air. Its predecessors, Pars Air and Yas Air, were designated as terrorist entities in 2012 by the United States, which accused them of transporting weapons to the Syrian regime. -
Ship Covers Relating to the Iran/Iraq Tanker War
THE IRAN/IRAQ TANKER WAR AND RENAMED TANKERS ~ Lawrence Brennan, (US Navy Ret.) SHIP COVERS RELATING TO THE IRAN/IRAQ TANKER WAR & REFLAGGED KUWAITI TANKERS, 1987-881 “The Kuwaiti fleet reads like a road map of southern New Jersey” By Captain Lawrence B. Brennan, U.S. Navy Retired2 Thirty years ago there was a New Jersey connection to the long-lasting Iran-Iraq War. That eight years of conflict was one of the longest international two-state wars of the 20th century, beginning in September 1980 and effectively concluding in a truce in August 1988. The primary and bloody land war between Iran and Iraq began during the Iranian Hostage Crisis. The Shah had left Iran and that year the USSR invaded Afghanistan. The conflict expanded to sea and involved many neutral nations whose shipping came under attack by the combatants. The parties’ intent was to damage their opponents’ oil exports and revenues and decrease world supplies. Some suggested that Iran and Iraq wanted to draw other states into the conflict. An Iranian source explained the origin of the conflict at sea. The tanker war seemed likely to precipitate a major international incident for two reasons. First, some 70 percent of Japanese, 50 percent of West European, and 7 percent of American oil imports came from the Persian Gulf in the early 1980s. Second, the assault on tankers involved neutral shipping as well as ships of the belligerent states.3 The relatively obscure first phase began in 1981, and the well-publicized second phase began in 1984. New Jersey, half a world away from the Persian (Arabian) gulf, became involved when the United States agreed to escort Kuwait tankers in an effort to support a friendly nation and keep the international waters open. -
US-Iranian Relations Gleaves Whitney Grand Valley State University
Grand Valley State University ScholarWorks@GVSU Ask Gleaves Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies 2-22-2010 A Road Over Rough Terrain: US-Iranian Relations Gleaves Whitney Grand Valley State University Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/ask_gleaves Recommended Citation Whitney, Gleaves, "A Road Over Rough Terrain: US-Iranian Relations" (2010). Ask Gleaves. Paper 5. http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/ask_gleaves/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies at ScholarWorks@GVSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Ask Gleaves by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@GVSU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Ask Gleaves: A Road Over Rough Terrain: US-Iranian Relations - The Hauenstein Center... Page 1 of 1 A Road Over Rough Terrain: US-Iranian Relations It seems as if U.S.-Iranian relations have been getting heated the past six months. Has the United States always suffered a rocky relationship with Iran? By Gleaves Whitney or anyone following the news, the Islamic Republic of Iran is no stranger. Starting with President F Obama’s inauguration in January 2009, the U.S. has attempted to mend a half-century of sour relations between the West and the Persian Gulf. Under the auspices of “a new beginning,” Obama announced in Cairo last spring that the U.S. was prepared to move forward with Iran. “The question now is not what Iran is against, but rather what future it wants to build.” Unfortunately, the current administration’s attempt to mend relations with Tehran has not gone according to plan.