Planning U.S. General Purpose Forces: The Theater Nuclear Forces

Abstract

This paper is one part in a series of six papers on planning U.S. general purpose forces. While it does not directly address issues of major budgetary significance, it is nevertheless a necessary part of the series. Its primary purpose is to show the relationship between theater nuclear forces and conventional force planning. One possible response to the rising costs of conventional forces is to place more reliance on theater nuclear forces to deter the outbreak of war. This paper explores the reasonableness of that response, and attempts to answer the question: "Are theater nuclear weapons a useful substitute for conventional force capability, or a hedge against failure of conventional forces?"

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1977
Accession Number
ADA593862

Entities

People

  • G. P. Hughes

Organizations

  • Congressional Budget Office

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Defense
  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Artillery
  • Ballistic Missiles
  • Carrier Based Aircraft
  • Employment
  • Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles
  • Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles
  • Military Operations
  • National Security
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Rockets
  • Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles
  • Tactical Aircraft
  • Warfare
  • Weapons Effects

Readers

  • Strategic Security Studies