The Promise of Passive Defenses
Abstract
Tactical ballistic missiles (TBMs) have distinctive strengths as offensive, conventional weapons: they strike speedily and, in the absence of defense, with assurance. But current versions also have distinctive weaknesses: they are not precision, 'smart' weapons, nor are they cheap. Passive defense use the weaknesses to mitigate the strength. Since TBMs are likely to remain an expensive method of delivering ordnance, their use will probably be restricted to targets where their fast, assured arrival would yield a high payoff. Targets for which fast arrival is less important can be more efficiently handled by slower weapons, either aircraft or cruise missiles. Thus, only for the time- critical targets is a defense against TBMs essential, whether active or passive. For this restricted set of targets, passive defense hold great promise. Combinations of hardening, redundancy, dispersal, and mobility can significantly reduce the damage such TBMs, as well as mitigate the effects of other attacks. For the capabilities imputed to Soviet TBMs in the 1990s, passive defenses may be able effectively to counter conventional TBM attacks. (RRH)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1987
- Accession Number
- ADA216636
Entities
People
- James A. Thomson
- James L. Bonomo
Organizations
- RAND Corporation