Weapons, 2006
Abstract
Weapons, used defensively or offensively, have provided humankind the tools to accomplish political objectives by other means since the dawn of humans. Weapons evolved from stone to club, long bow, cannon, machine gun, dumb bomb, precision guided munitions, tank, destroyer, jet fighter-bomber, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and beyond. Today, simple weapons to complex weapon systems exist and are in use throughout the world. Among sovereign nations, weapons systems develop in accordance with the will of the people, the military, and their government the Clausewitzian trinity (Carr, 2000, pp. 283-284) to provide a public good, national security. The modern weapons industry finds itself providing a ranging variety of weapons and weapon systems to both integrated core nations and in Barnett's gap of developing nations that have yet to reap the benefits of globalization. Barnett, (2005). Yet the forces of globalization have made weapons increasingly accessible and available to core nations, gap nations, and non-state terrorist actors. Accordingly, weapons acquisition plays an integral part in national security. Taking its research, development, and production cues from governments, the weapons industry involves itself in a variety of sovereign governmental concerns. These range from defeating emerging threats and maintaining explosive safety to developing advanced technology to maintain a security advantage over current and potential adversaries. Clearly, a tight link exists between a national government and both its domestic weapons industry and foreign weapons suppliers. The Porter model provides a useful template to analyze the weapons industry response to national security strategy. Within this model, trends, challenges, and an outlook for the weapons industry emerge. Three significant general trends observed by this industry study are consolidation, systems integration, and dual use technologies.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA475332
Entities
Organizations
- Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy