Arsenal of democracy in the face of change: Economic policy for industrial mobilization in the 1990s

Technical Report · Fri Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1989

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5287804· OSTI ID:5287804

Bjornstad, D. J.; Chester, C. V.; Hardy, B. H.; Horwich, G.; Sullivan, P. J.; Trumble, D. A. ^[1]; Brinkerhoff, J. R. ^[2]; Gutmanis, I. ^[3]

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1. Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
2. Brinkerhoff Associates, Burke, VA (USA)
3. Sterling Hobe Corp., Washington, DC (USA)

Does the US possess the economic capability to produce conventional weapons in sufficient quantity and quality to compensate for the impending reduced strategic nuclear deterrent Have changing economic conditions -- domestic and worldwide -- changed this ability Are there policies that would enhance this ability in the face of economic change In each case, the simple answer appears to be yes -- but there is a much more complex story to tell. The capability to produce conventional weaponry today is more important than in the past. Nuclear parity and arms limitations agreements have and will continue to place additional reliance on conventional weaponry as a deterrent to major conflicts. It is also more difficult to produce conventional weapons than in the past. Modern non-nuclea: weaponry is increasingly sophisticated, evolves rapidly, and becomes obsolete rapidly. Current strategy calls for continued modernization rather than maintenance of large weapon inventories. The nation implicitly relies on the ability to surge and/or mobilize production to meet the needs of a military buildup. 39 refs., 14 figs., 20 tabs.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: FEMA
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 5287804
• Report Number(s): ORNL/TM-11271; ON: DE90005022; CNN: FEMA EMW-84-E-1737
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
CONVENTIONAL WARFARE
MILITARY STRATEGY
NATIONAL DEFENSE
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
COMPILED DATA
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMIC POLICY
GLOBAL ASPECTS
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
HISTORICAL ASPECTS
MODIFICATIONS
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
PLANNING
POLITICAL ASPECTS
DATA
ECONOMICS
INFORMATION
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
NUMERICAL DATA
WARFARE
WEAPONS
450400* - Military Technology
Weaponry
& National Defense- Nuclear & Radiological Warfare- (1990-)