Post cold war US nuclear weapons requirements. Research report August 1991-April 1992
The end of the Cold War does not mean the end of the requirement for the US to maintain nuclear weapons. Despite much improved relations between the US and the countries of the former Soviet Union, and despite encouraging progress in nuclear arms reductions agreements, the Russian nuclear arsenal remains a potential threat to the US. Therefore, even as weapons are eliminated, the US will have to maintain a nuclear arsenal comparable to that of the Republic of Russia for many years. In addition to offensive weapons, the emergence of new Third World nuclear threats, which are not completely deterrable by threats of US retaliation, may necessitate an antiballistic missile system to protect both US territory and its forces deployed overseas. Finally, these new Third World threats will require new US nuclear weapons doctrines. Doctrines developed during the Cold War to deter or conduct a massive nuclear exchange with the former soviet union are not directly applicable to the employment of nuclear weapons in a limited conflict with a relatively minor adversary.
- Research Organization:
- Industrial Coll. of the Armed Forces, Washington, DC (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 7233808
- Report Number(s):
- AD-A-276675/6/XAB; NDU-ICAF--92-S72
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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