The Process of Soviet Weapons Design

Abstract

Explanation and prediction of military R&D in the USSR requires consideration of the system as a whole. Only in context can one make sense of the array of specific strengths and weaknesses found in any undertaking as complex as the way a country acquires its weapons. Although it may approach being a cliche to note the existence of national assymetries and the problems they introduce into analysis, nevertheless they are only infrequently taken into account. In this paper the author is concerned explicitly with how Soviet institutions, constraints, incentives, and values influence the process of Soviet weapons design. The central theme is that these processes strongly affect outcomes over the medium term future.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 1978
Accession Number
ADA140629

Entities

People

  • A. J. Alexander

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Counter WMD
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircraft Equipment
  • Aircrafts
  • Airframes
  • Ballistic Missiles
  • Economic Systems
  • Employment
  • Fighter Aircraft
  • Fire Control Systems
  • Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles
  • Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles
  • Materials
  • Personnel Management
  • Public Administration
  • Rockets
  • United States
  • Ussr
  • Weapon Systems

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Control Systems Engineering.
  • Economics
  • Political Science/ International Relations/ European Studies