Look at nuclear artillery yield options using JANUS, a wargame simulation code
JANUS, a two-sided, interactive wargame simulation code, was used to explore how using each of several different yield options in a nuclear artillery shell might affect a tactical battlefield simulation. In a general sense, the results or outcomes of these simulations support the results or outcomes of previous studies. In these simulations the Red player knew of the anticipated nuclear capability of the Blue player. Neither side experienced a decisive win over the other, and both continued fighting and experienced losses that, under most historical circumstances, would have been termed unacceptable - that is, something else would have happened (the attack would have been called off). During play, each side had only fragmentary knowledge of the remaining resources on the other side - thus each side desired to continue fighting on the basis of known information. We found that the anticipated use of nuclear weapons by either side affects the character of a game significantly and that, if the employment of nuclear weapons is to have a decided effect on the progress and outcome of a battle, each side will have to have an adequate number of nuclear weapons. In almost all the simulations we ran using JANUS, enhanced radiation (ER) weapons were more effective than 1-kt fission weapons in imposing overall losses on Red. The typical visibility in the JANUS simulation limited each side's ability to acquire units deep into enemy territory and so the 10-kt fission weapon was not useful against enemy tanks that were not engaged in battle. (Troop safety constraints limited its use on tanks that were engaged in direct fire with the enemy).
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 5035071
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-53277; ON: DE82020454; TRN: 82-019206
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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