Tactical PGMs: Implications in Perspective
Abstract
Precision guided munitions (PGMs), also referred to as "smart" weapons, are frequently viewed as modern scientific marvels and as new technology with great potential to revolutionize the battlefield of tomorrow. Their attributed unerring accuracy and relatively low cost in relationship to their targets gives them the much-sought-for potential not only to reduce the destructiveness of war but at the same time to reduce the massive cost of standing army, navy, and air forces. A proponent of this position is the Boston Study Group, In a recent article in Scientific America, the group outlined the essential aspects of its position by stating that PGMs can form the basis for not only a new arms control approach, but also one that can be adopted unilaterally and thereby strop the irrational momentum of the arms race, PGMs would allow the United States to cut the number of land-based Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles from 1000 to 100, the number of aircraft carriers from 13 to 3, and the number of Army divisions from 17 1/2 to 11 1/3.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1979
- Accession Number
- ADA516094
Entities
People
- Wolfgang W. Samuel
Organizations
- United States Army War College