Role of Ballistic Missiles in Third World Defense Strategies

Abstract

Ballistic missile proliferation poses a fundamentally new challenge for U.S. defense planners in general and for the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) in particular. The following discussion concentrates on the role of ballistic missiles in the defense plans of Third World states rather than on the kinds of missile technologies they are seeking to acquire. More specifically, this paper will examine: (1) their motivations for procuring ballistic missiles, (2) the military roles and missions assigned to such systems in Third World defense planning, (3) Third World targeting strategies, and (4) implications of the foregoing for SDIO in light of the program's refocused interest in theater and limited strike defenses. The result of these efforts will be a broad overview of military implications of Third World ballistic missiles.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1991
Accession Number
ADA243999

Entities

People

  • Andrew W. Hull

Organizations

  • Institute for Defense Analyses

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Defense
  • Anti-Ballistic Missiles
  • Arms Control
  • Ballistic Missiles
  • Chemical Weapons
  • Defense Planning
  • Explosives
  • Government Procurement
  • Governments
  • Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles
  • Materials
  • Middle East
  • National Security
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Southwest Asia
  • Strategic Defense Initiative
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Ballistic Missile Meteorology
  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Theoretical Analysis.