Collateral Damage,

Abstract

Collateral damage is undesirable civilian materiel damage or personnel injuries produced by the effects of friendly nuclear weapons. For a nation on whose soil a nuclear weapon is detonated, any damage, other than damage to enemy military resources, may well be viewed as collateral damage. A key element in the ability of the United States and its allies to execute a policy of flexible response is the manner in which we handle the consideration of collateral damage. Once hostilities begin, collateral damage considerations will have a broad ranging impact. Besides the humanitarian aspects, the reduction of collateral damage could assist in lowering the risk of escalation by signaling limitations on our use of tactical nuclear weapons. The current doctrine and procedures for incorporating the collateral damage considerations in the employment of nuclear weapons on the battlefield enhance the credibility of our national policy of flexible response. The new FM 101-31 series of manuals further amplifies the vast importance of properly considering collateral damage in target analysis and provides commanders and staffs the tools to do so.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 1978
Accession Number
ADA112302

Entities

People

  • Frank W. Thornhill Jr

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Battlefields
  • Casualties
  • Civil Defense
  • Civilian Population
  • Collateral Damage
  • Electromagnetic Pulses
  • Employment
  • Leading Edges
  • Nuclear Radiation
  • Nuclear Warfare
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Radiation
  • Radiation Effects
  • Target Acquisition
  • Weapon Systems
  • Weapons
  • Weapons Effects

Readers

  • Explosive Engineering.
  • Munitions and Ordnance Engineering
  • Strategic Security Studies