No abstract

No abstract

We consider a red-versus-blue coupled synchronization and spatial swarming (i.e., swarmalator) model that incorporates attraction and repulsion terms and an adversarial game of phases. The model exhibits behaviors such as spontaneous emergence of tactical manoeuvres of envelopment (e.g., flanking, pincer, and envelopment) that are often proposed in military theory or observed in nature. We classify these states based on a large set of features such as spatial densities, synchronization between clusters, and measures of cluster distances. These features are used to study the influence of coupling parameters on the expected presence of these states and the-sometimes sharp-transitions between them.

Tools from mathematical ecology in a combat model with humanitarian aid agencies Conflict models have a long history of taking inspiration from mathematical ecology. In “A mathematical model of humanitarian aid agencies in attritional conflict environments,” McLennan-Smith et al. seek to enrich counterinsurgency (COIN) warfare models to account for modern and future complexities by incorporating nontrophic effects and the functional response from mathematical ecology. The authors consider the application of these ideas in a COIN scenario in which a humanitarian aid agency is present in the conflict environment to support the local population. In this scenario, the aid agency plays the unwilling role of a “hospital shield” whereby it is forced to, or inadvertently, shield combatants or weapons. In contrast to the typical behavior seen in the classic Lanchester system, this model gives rise to limit cycles and bifurcations that the authors interpret through a warfighting application. Finally, through a case study, the authors highlight the importance of the agility of an intervention force in achieving victory when humanitarian aid agencies are present.