Increasing the Weaponization of Space: A Prescription for Further Progress
Abstract
This paper explores the impediments that prevent DOD from further developing space weapons and recommends actions DOD can take to mitigate/eliminate these impediments. The history of space, and in particular space weapons, is addressed to eliminate likely incorrect impressions and lay the foundation for later discussions. Six major joint and AF future warfare reports/studies (JV 2010, the Quadrennial Defense Review report, the National Defense Panel report, New World Vistas: Air and Space Power for the 21st Century', 2025, and Air and Space Power in the New Millennium are discussed in terms of their predictions for increasingly-important space activities in general and the value of space weapons in particular. Then a taxonomy for space weapons is developed, encompassing space control (satellite protection and negation) and force application (worldwide missile defense and worldwide precision strike). Five types of impediments (policy, strategy, legal, organizational, and feasibility) are then matched to the space weapon taxonomy, showing how various missions and weapon types/basing modes are effected. Finally, recommendations are made on how DOD can mitigate the impediments; these recommendations are assessed for the effort needed to accomplish them and brief statements are made on what DOD can do once the recommendations are implemented.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA397245
Entities
People
- Randall S. Weidenheimer
Organizations
- Air War College