Precision Guided Munitions: Implications for Detente

Abstract

No consensus has yet developed regarding the meaning or impact of new high-technology tactical weapons systems, either with respect to the military balance in Europe or in the larger context of East-West relations and detente. Some writers believe that a radical shift in the tactical military balance may be underway, possibly approaching a point of departure from traditional reliance upon nuclear weapons. This article first reviews the time-honored debate over the defensibility of Western Europe without recourse to tactical nuclear weapons. It then introduces the new dimension represented by precision-guided munitions and related technology and identifies the principal intellectual schools which have developed as a result. Finally, it transcends the debate to seek out and to explore the likely implications of the opposing points of view for western security.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1976
Accession Number
ADA511128

Entities

People

  • Edward B. Atkeson

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD
  • Cyber
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Anti-Tank Missiles
  • Attrition
  • Ballistic Missiles
  • Central Europe
  • Civil War
  • Guided Missiles
  • Guided Weapons
  • International Relations
  • Munitions
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Precision-Guided Munitions
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare
  • Weapons
  • Western Europe

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Economics
  • Theoretical Analysis.