The Changing Roles for Theater Nuclear Forces.

Abstract

Strategic parity required NATO to rely to a greater degree than in the past on its conventional forces to deter and defend against conventional aggression and to depend more than previously upon its theater nuclear forces to deter and defend against the enemy's use of nuclear weapons in Europe. The implications of strategic parity suggest that the principal mission for NATO's theater nuclear forces should change in the future from maintaining a war-fighting capability to establishing a second-strike capability. This fundamental shift in posture can be achieved only if NATO's theater nuclear forces become less vulnerable than they are in their present configuration. The need for NATO to have a survivable second-strike nuclear capability might be satisfied with the formation of separate, overwatching, nuclear-only units, such as US Army Missile Commands.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 06, 1976
Accession Number
ADA031679

Entities

People

  • Stanley D. Fair

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Command And Control
  • Doctrine
  • Governments
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Nato Forces
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Rear Areas
  • Second Strike Capability
  • Security
  • Short Range Ballistic Missiles
  • Students
  • United States
  • Ussr
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare
  • Weapons

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP).
  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.