Qualities Precede Quantities: Deciding How Much Is Enough for U.S. Nuclear Forces

Abstract

The discovery in 2021 that the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) appears to be engaged in an ambitious expansion of its nuclear arsenal has led to concerns about whether U.S. nuclear forces will be enough to deter potential adversaries and reassure allies. Historically, the United States sought to maintain quantitative parity in strategic nuclear forces with the Soviet Union and then Russia, while assuming that other possible opponents with much smaller nuclear arsenals, such as the PRC, could be treated as lesser included cases.1

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2023
Accession Number
AD1211973

Entities

People

  • Edward Geist

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Arms Control
  • Arms Control Treaties
  • Ballistic Missiles
  • Boost Phase
  • Civil Defense
  • Cold War
  • Command And Control
  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of State
  • Game Theory
  • Geography
  • Governments
  • Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles
  • International Relations
  • International Security
  • National Security
  • Nuclear Warheads
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Political Systems
  • Public Policy
  • Security
  • Strategic Weapons
  • Treaties
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Quantum spin resonance or Electron Paramagnetic Resonance spectroscopy.
  • Systems Analysis and Design