Soviet reactions to follow-on-to-Lance (FOTL). Study project

Technical Report · Sun Mar 26 04:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:5425355

Wightman, R O

One of the most controversial areas of US military planning for the 1990s is Battlefield Nuclear Weapons (BNW) modernization. The current dilemma has been created in part by Soviet 'public relations' activities in the area of troop reduction and arms control at a time when NATO must decide whether to modernize nuclear weapon systems currently deployed in Western Europe. This paper focuses on the FOTL, which will modernize the soon-to-be-obsolete Lance system. It identifies why NATO needs the new system, why the Soviets want to prevent its deployment, and how the political environment in Western Europe and the US will impact the decision for or against development. The paper also discusses the Soviet frame of reference for reacting to US/NATO initiatives ideology, insecurity, and the correlation of forces. It describes past Soviet reactions to nuclear weapons modernizations (Pershing IIs, Ground Launched Cruise Missiles, and Enhanced Radiation Weapons), and then postulates how the Soviets may respond politically and militarily to a FOTL deployment.

• Research Organization: Army War Coll., Carlisle Barracks, PA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5425355
• Report Number(s): AD-A-209811/9/XAB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

350200* -- Arms Control-- Proliferation-- (1987-)
98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
ARMS CONTROL
ASIA
ENHANCED RADIATION WEAPONS
EUROPE
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
MILITARY PERSONNEL
MISSILES
NATO
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
PERSONNEL
PLANNING
POLITICAL ASPECTS
PUBLIC RELATIONS
USA
USSR
WEAPONS
WESTERN EUROPE