As a rigorous peer-reviewed academic journal, Missiles and Space Vehicles is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and strictly adheres to the core practices and guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). The journal has a zero-tolerance policy towards academic misconduct. All authors, reviewers, editors, and publishers are expected to abide by the ethical requirements set forth in this statement.

I. Definition and Handling of Academic Misconduct

1. Scope of Academic Misconduct.

Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Plagiarism: Direct use of another person’s published or unpublished ideas, data, figures, or text without appropriate citation, including self-plagiarism (reusing one’s own previously published work without acknowledgment).

• Simultaneous Submission/Duplicate Publication: Submitting the same manuscript (or a highly similar manuscript) to multiple journals concurrently; or republishing in a different language without indicating the original source.

• Data Fabrication and Falsification: Fabricating or selectively modifying research data, experimental records, images, or statistical results to support predetermined conclusions.

• Improper Authorship: Listing as an author someone who has not made a substantive contribution to the research, or refusing to include someone who has made a substantive contribution, or signing an author’s name without permission.

• Fictitious Authors: Using fabricated authors or AI-generated content without explicit declaration.

• Review Fraud: Attempting to identify reviewers during blind review, bribing or threatening reviewers; reviewers using manuscript information for personal gain.

• Citation Manipulation: Forcibly requesting or arranging mutual citations of irrelevant works for the purpose of increasing citation counts.

• Concealment of Conflicts of Interest: Deliberately failing to disclose financial or non-financial relationships that could affect objective judgment.

2. Handling Procedures.

The editorial office will conduct two similarity checks (during initial review and before publication). If academic misconduct such as simultaneous submission or plagiarism is detected, the manuscript will be rejected without publication.

II. Authors' Ethics

1. Originality and Prohibition of Duplicate Publication.

Authors guarantee that the submitted manuscript is entirely original and has not been previously published in any language, in any formal or informal publication, domestically or internationally. Simultaneous submission and duplicate publication are strictly prohibited. Content involving state secrets must be properly declassified and accompanied by a confidentiality review certificate from the author’s institution.

2. Prohibition of Data Falsification and Fabrication.

All images, tables, and raw data must be authentic and verifiable. Any image processing is limited to global adjustments; local enhancement, deletion, or cloning is prohibited. Authors are encouraged to submit underlying data for verification, to the extent permitted by national security requirements.

3. Authorship Standards.

All listed authors must have made substantial contributions to the conception, design, data acquisition, analysis, or critical revision of the work. Changes to authorship are generally not permitted after submission.

4. Citation Standards.

References to others’ work must be clearly acknowledged. Forced citations, citation cartels, or excessive self-citation (where a single article cites the author’s own previous work at a rate exceeding 30%) will require an explanation.

5. Declaration of AI Tools.

If generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT) is used, its scope of use must be clearly stated in the acknowledgments or methods section. AI cannot be listed as an author. Concealment of AI use will be treated as academic misconduct.

6. Conflict of Interest Statement.

Authors must disclose in the manuscript any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest that could affect objective judgment. If none exist, a statement declaring “No conflicts of interest” should be included.

7. Correction of Major Errors.

If a major error or inaccuracy is discovered after publication, authors have the duty to promptly notify the editorial office and cooperate with retraction or correction.

III. Reviewers' Ethics

1. Objectivity and Confidentiality.

Reviewers must provide objective and fair evaluations. The reviewed manuscript must not be used for their own research or discussed with others before publication.

2. Scope of Competence.

If a reviewer lacks sufficient expertise to assess the manuscript, they must immediately decline the review invitation and provide a reason.

3. Conflict of Interest Recusal.

Reviewers who have competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with the authors, their institutions, or research funders must actively declare such relationships and recuse themselves.

4. Prohibited Conduct.

Reviewers must not intentionally delay the review to publish similar findings first; they must not cite unpublished information from the manuscript without authorization. If suspected misconduct is identified, they have the duty to promptly notify the editorial office.

IV. Editors' Ethics (including Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board Members)

1. Fairness and Quality.

Editors make acceptance decisions based on academic merit, originality, and fit with the journal’s scope, without regard to authors’ race, gender, nationality, political beliefs, or commercial interests.

2. Peer Review Management.

Editors ensure the integrity of the review process and guard against reviewer abuse. Manuscripts that violate ethical standards will be rejected, retracted, or reported to the authors’ institutions.

3. Confidentiality and Conflict Recusal.

Editors must not disclose manuscript information. If an editor has a conflict of interest, they must delegate handling to another editorial board member.

4. Similarity Checking and Misconduct Handling.

Editors have the right to use similarity-checking software without notifying the author. A single article’s similarity index exceeding 15% will result in mandatory revision or rejection. If a published paper is later confirmed to involve misconduct, a retraction notice will be issued regardless of how much time has passed, and the status will be updated in the database.

V. Publisher and Overall Environmental Responsibilities

1. Integrity of the Academic Record.

For erroneous or fraudulent published papers, the journal will promptly issue corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions, while maintaining traceability of the original version.

2. Anti-Discrimination and Inclusivity.

Any form of academic discrimination is prohibited.

3. Data Security and Confidentiality Review.

Given the journal’s focus on aerospace and missile technology, all manuscripts must undergo confidentiality review by the submitting institution and provide a certificate of such review. Manuscripts without this certificate will not be sent for review. Disclosure of state secrets will be treated as serious academic misconduct and handled according to law.

4. Appeals and Complaints.

Authors who object to a rejection decision, review timeline, or determination of academic misconduct may submit a written appeal within 20 working days of receiving the notification. The editorial office will arrange for an expert to re-review the paper, issue a final decision, and notify the author of the re-review result within 30 working days.

VI. Research Involving Ethical Approval

For research involving human subjects, animal experiments, or identifiable personal privacy, authors must declare that the study followed the approval of an institutional ethics committee (including the approval number) and describe informed consent procedures. For studies involving sensitive data, a legal source certificate must also be provided.

This Publication Ethics Statement takes effect October 21, 2026, and will be reviewed annually by the editorial office. Submission of a manuscript implies that all authors have read, understood, and agreed to comply with all provisions of this statement.

The Editor-in-Chief bears final responsibility for the interpretation and enforcement of the ethics policy and is committed to continuously aligning with COPE and Scopus indexing requirements.

Editorial Dept. of Missiles and Space Vehicles

October 21, 2026