This book was sponsored by the U.S. Air Force Academy Space Mission Analysis and Design Program with support from program offices at the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, the National Reconnaissance Office, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and organizations within the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

For every weapons system being developed, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) must make a critical decision: Should the system go forward to full-scale production? The answer to that question may involve not only tens of billions of dollars but also the nation's security and military capabilities. In the milestone process used by DOD to answer the basic acquisition question, one component near the end of the process is operational testing, to determine if a system meets the requirements for effectiveness and suitability in realistic battlefield settings. Problems discovered at this stage can cause significant production delays and can necessitate costly system redesign. This book examines the milestone process, as well as the DOD's entire approach to testing and evaluating defense systems. It brings to the topic of defense acquisition the application of scientific statistical principles and practices.

Simulations are widely used in the military for training personnel, analyzing proposed equipment, and rehearsing missions, and these simulations need realistic models of human behavior. This book draws together a wide variety of theoretical and applied research in human behavior modeling that can be considered for use in those simulations. It covers behavior at the individual, unit, and command level. At the individual soldier level, the topics covered include attention, learning, memory, decisionmaking, perception, situation awareness, and planning. At the unit level, the focus is on command and control. The book provides short-, medium-, and long-term goals for research and development of more realistic models of human behavior.

Military technology is highly advanced in terms of technology being used in the field, computer applications, artificial intelligence, and software applications. These high-performance technologies range from weapons to communications technology to automation in vehicles and weaponry. These technologies must be both secure and reliable in harsh environments. Research is being focused specifically on that, including how military and defense applications operate, what modern technologies are being used, and the ethics surrounding these applications. A holistic view of these applications is necessary for both understanding current military tactics and tools along with the future applications. The Research Anthology on Military and Defense Applications, Utilization, Education, and Ethics focuses specifically on military and defense operations, expenditure, technologies, and tools, and the ethics surrounding technologies like weaponry and artificial intelligence in the military. The chapters cover a wide and diverse range of military and defense applications while providing crucial information on the functions, security, and reliability of these technologies. Beyond an understanding of the applications themselves, this book also focuses on military education surrounding these technologies and the ethics of usage to provide a well-rounded understanding of research in the field. This book is ideal for military consultants, military personnel, defense agencies, national security agencies, government officials, defense personnel, policymakers, military educators and trainers, stakeholders, practitioners, researchers, academicians, and students interested in the latest research in military and defense applications.