Deploying an Operational Anti-Satellite Capability: Filling a Vulnerable Point in U.S. Defense
Abstract
In 1989, Secretary of Defense Carlucci asserted to Congress that the lack of a U.S. ASAT [Anti-Satellite system was the single most vulnerable point in the country's defense. Since then, the Iron Curtain has fallen, Germany has reunified, the Soviet Union has disintegrated, Russia and Eastern European countries are delving into democratic and free market institutionalization, as is much of the rest of the world, and the UNITED States stands as the remaining super power in the post-cold war world. Indeed, on the face of it, now would seem an odd time for the U.S. to add an operational ASAT capability to its military instrument of national power After all, the Communist threat has dramatically receded, the economic and political instruments of national power seem to have taken precedence over the military instrument, and, accordingly, the U.S military is undergoing reductions of historical proportions. But this is the time the U.S. should deploy an operational ASAT capability. What's more, that capability should be open to venfication and known to the world. This paper expounds upon the reasons why deploying an operational ASAT capability would be a prudent step for the U.S at this time.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1996
- Accession Number
- ADA442382
Entities
People
- Robert D. Dillman
Organizations
- National War College