U.S. Air and Ground Conventional Forces for NATO: Firepower Issues
Abstract
U.S. air and ground conventional firepower assets are procured mainly for the defense of NATO. Decisions concerning these weapons over the next five years will help shape the roles that U.S. forces play in NATO defenses. "Firepower," as used here, refers to the capability of conventional air and ground forces to deliver heavy ordnance and explosives against enemy forces near the forward edge of the battle area (the front). The primary function of U.S. conventional ground and tactical air forces in NATO is to defend West Germany. In this context, U.S. forces play three roles: * The equivalent of five U.S. divisions and their support, based in Europe, defend two of the nine sectors of the NATO Central Front in West Germany (see Figure 1 in Chapter III). * U.S. forces can assist the allies in defending other sectors of the front. As a practical matter, European based U.S. tactical aircraft can respond most rapidly to Pact attacks against allied ground forces. * U.S. forces based outside Western Europe can reinforce U.S. and allied forces in Europe. These reinforcements enable the alliance to respond to an attack too large to be stopped by the forces available in Europe and to sustain combat there until completion of a full NATO mobilization for war. How effective the United States would be in these roles depends critically on the capabilities of the NATO allies as well as on those of the Warsaw Pact. Significant differences in firepower may remain between the United States and two major allied forces in NATO's Central Region, West Germany and Great Britain. These differences could be important in the event of conflict. The purpose of this paper is to illuminate choices facing the Congress in the fiscal years 1979-1983 defense program by examining a range of U.S. firepower procurement decisions in light of available information on NATO's current firepower assets and planned allied force improvements.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1978
- Accession Number
- ADA474799
Entities
People
- G. P. Hughes
Organizations
- Congressional Budget Office