The Importance of the Nuclear Triad

The Importance of the Nuclear Triad PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Deterrence (Strategy)
Languages : en
Pages : 8

Get Book Here

Book Description

The Importance of the Nuclear Triad

The Importance of the Nuclear Triad PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Deterrence (Strategy)
Languages : en
Pages : 8

Get Book Here

Book Description


Importance of the Nuclear Triad

Importance of the Nuclear Triad PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Deterrence (Strategy)
Languages : en
Pages : 1

Get Book Here

Book Description
Since the 1960s, these objectives have been met by the U.S. nuclear triad through forces operating at sea, on land, and in the air. Today's nuclear triad consists of: 1. 14 ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) armed with 240 submarine-launched ballistic missiles 2. 400 land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) 3. 60 nuclear-capable heavy bomber aircraft capable of delivering gravity bombs and cruise missiles. Each leg of the triad provides unique and complementary attributes. Collectively, the triad seeks to ensure that no adversary believes it could launched a strategic attack that eliminates the United States' ability to respond and inflict unacceptable damage--for any reason, under any circumstances.

Encyclopedia of Strategic Nuclear Forces - Reports on Missiles, Bombers, Submarines, Triad, Warheads, Modernization Plans, ICBM, SLBM, START Treaty, Long-Range Standoff (LRSO), and Verification

Encyclopedia of Strategic Nuclear Forces - Reports on Missiles, Bombers, Submarines, Triad, Warheads, Modernization Plans, ICBM, SLBM, START Treaty, Long-Range Standoff (LRSO), and Verification PDF Author: U. S. Military
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781549884870
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 399

Get Book Here

Book Description
This unique book reproduces sixteen important government documents, reports, and studies dealing with American strategic nuclear forces, including the elements of the nuclear triad (missiles, bombers, and submarines), arms control issues and treaties, and modernization plans. Documents include: U.S. Strategic Nuclear Forces: Background, Developments, and Issues (2015) * U.S. Strategic Nuclear Forces: Background, Developments, and Issues (2013) * Counterforce Issues for the U.S. Strategic Nuclear Forces * Considerations for a U.S. Nuclear Force Structure below a 1,000-Warhead Limit * Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Nuclear Capabilities * Projected Costs of U.S. Nuclear Forces, 2014 to 2023 * Adherence to and Compliance with Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments * The National Military Strategy of the United States of America 2015 * Projected Costs of U.S. Nuclear Forces, 2015 to 2024 * Air Force Global Strike Command "To Deter and Assure" Strategic Master Plan 2014 * Task Force Report: Assessment of Nuclear Monitoring and Verification Technologies * U.S. Strategic Nuclear Forces: Background, Developments, and Issues (2009) * U.S. Nuclear Weapons: Changes in Policy and Force Structure * ICBMs - Their Relevance to U.S. Security and the United States Air Force in the 21st Century * Culture Clash: Bomber Nuclear Operations in a Post-Cold War World * Nuclear Strategy in the New World Order. Introduction * Background: The Strategic Triad * Force Structure and Size During the Cold War * Force Structure and Size After the Cold War * Current and Future Force Structure and Size * Strategic Nuclear Delivery Vehicles: Recent Reductions and Current Modernization Programs * Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) * Peacekeeper (MX) * Minuteman III * Minuteman Modernization Programs. * Future Programs * Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles * The SSGN Program * The Backfit Program * Basing Changes * Warhead Loadings * Modernization Plans and Programs * The Ohio Replacement Program (ORP) Program * Bombers * B-1 Bomber * B-2 Bomber * B-52 Bomber * Future Bomber Plans * Sustaining the Nuclear Weapons Enterprise * Issues for Congress * Force Size * Force Structure * The Cost of Nuclear Weapons Since the early 1960s the United States has maintained a "triad" of strategic nuclear delivery vehicles. The United States first developed these three types of nuclear delivery vehicles, in large part, because each of the military services wanted to play a role in the U.S. nuclear arsenal. However, during the 1960s and 1970s, analysts developed a more reasoned rationale for the nuclear "triad." They argued that these different basing modes had complementary strengths and weaknesses. They would enhance deterrence and discourage a Soviet first strike because they complicated Soviet attack planning and ensured the survivability of a significant portion of the U.S. force in the event of a Soviet first strike. The different characteristics might also strengthen the credibility of U.S. targeting strategy. For example, ICBMs eventually had the accuracy and prompt responsiveness needed to attack hardened targets such as Soviet command posts and ICBM silos, SLBMs had the survivability needed to complicate Soviet efforts to launch a disarming first strike and to retaliate if such an attack were attempted, and heavy bombers could be dispersed quickly and launched to enhance their survivability, and they could be recalled to their bases if a crisis did not escalate into conflict. According to unclassified estimates, the number of delivery vehicles (ICBMs, SLBMs, and nuclear-capable bombers) in the U.S. force structure grew steadily through the mid-1960s, with the greatest number of delivery vehicles, 2,268, deployed in 1967.

The Future of the U.S. Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Force

The Future of the U.S. Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Force PDF Author: Lauren Caston
Publisher: Rand Corporation
ISBN: 0833076264
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 185

Get Book Here

Book Description
The authors assess alternatives for a next-generation intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) across a broad set of potential characteristics and situations. They use the current Minuteman III as a baseline to develop a framework to characterize alternative classes of ICBMs, assess the survivability and effectiveness of possible alternatives, and weigh those alternatives against their cost.

Defending the Arsenal

Defending the Arsenal PDF Author: Adam B. Lowther
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 131546067X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 208

Get Book Here

Book Description
One important area of interest within military and policy circles focuses on an effort to revitalize the nuclear triad amidst a number of competing strategic interests. The difficulties arising from US engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan are leading many scholars and policy makers to question whether a reinvigorated nuclear triad has any role in deterring modern adversaries. This volume takes an unashamed pro-nuclear modernization position and argues for designing and fielding new nuclear warheads and delivery systems (submarine, ICBM, and bomber) while also arguing against signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty or agreeing to further reductions in the nuclear arsenal. It also argues that nuclear deterrence remains as relevant today, perhaps more, than it was during the Cold War. With so many authors advocating for "Global Zero" and highlighting perceived dangers from a nuclear arsenal, this work stands in stark contrast to the chorus of anti-arsenal works. Because of the work’s structure and effort to answer questions of current relevance, it should appeal to a broad audience including: service staffs, PME students, COCOM staffs, Pentagon personnel, Capitol Hill staffers, policy makers, academics, graduate students, and interested readers.

U. S. Strategic Nuclear Forces

U. S. Strategic Nuclear Forces PDF Author: Amy F. Woolf
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1437920438
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 27

Get Book Here

Book Description
Contents: (1) Introduction; (2) Background: The Strategic Triad: Force Structure and Size During the Cold War; Force Structure and Size After the Cold War; Future Force Structure and Size; (3) Strategic Nuclear Delivery Vehicles: Ongoing Plans and Programs: (a) Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles: Peacekeeper; Minuteman III; Minuteman Modernization Programs; Future Programs; (b) Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles: The SSGN Program; The Backfit Program; Basing Changes; Warhead Issues; Modernization Plans and Programs; Future Programs; (c) Bombers: B-1 Bomber; B-2 Bomber; B-52 Bomber; Future Bomber Plans; (4) Issues for Congress: Force Size; Force Structure; Safety, Security, and Management Issues. Illustrations.

Nuclear Stability. Do nuclear weapons contribute to increasing or decreasing stability?

Nuclear Stability. Do nuclear weapons contribute to increasing or decreasing stability? PDF Author: Blake Sullivan
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3656855358
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 10

Get Book Here

Book Description
Essay from the year 2013 in the subject Politics - Basics and General, grade: C+, , language: English, abstract: Nuclear weapons enable a state to inflict a lot of damage at once to another state, if the other state does not have the ability to strike back. This is why the Nuclear Triad is so important, as it gives states a chance to launch nuclear weapons from land, sea and air. If you knew that your enemy had a chance to launch a nuclear missile back, would you still go ahead with the launch? No one in their right mind would attack a nuclear country with nuclear weapons, as it is just a disaster waiting to occur. Although there are some very obvious flaws with this theory, the benefits out weigh the risk. As nuclear weaponry becomes more common, it is just starting to prove over time how nuclear weapons really are a tool for peace and not weapons used for mass destruction.

Nuclear Superiority

Nuclear Superiority PDF Author: David S. McDonough
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135866236
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 114

Get Book Here

Book Description
In 2002 the Bush administration completed a Nuclear Posture Review that introduced a ‘new triad’ based on offensive-strike systems, defences and a revitalized defence infrastructure. The new triad is designed for a new strategic threat environment, characterized not by a long-standing nuclear rivalry with another superpower, but by unstable relationships with rogue-state proliferators, alongside more ambiguous relations with nuclear-weapon powers. Providing a historical context to these modifications to US nuclear strategy, Nuclear Superiority details how the new triad, which strongly emphasizes the need to bolster the credibility of the nuclear deterrent and to prepare for nuclear use when deterrence fails, is founded on previous efforts to secure nuclear superiority against the Soviet Union and counter-proliferation capabilities against WMD-proliferant adversaries. It illustrates how the evolution of American nuclear strategy towards more effective counter-force capabilities, regardless of the current threat environment, has led to a host of counter-force developments. David S. McDonough explores how this strategy is based on the long-standing American desire to control conflict escalation and how it may invite crisis instability with regional adversaries and disquiet among established nuclear powers.

Evaluation of the U. S. Strategic Nuclear Triad

Evaluation of the U. S. Strategic Nuclear Triad PDF Author: U. S. Committee on Governmental Affairs
Publisher: Forgotten Books
ISBN: 9780243012527
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 140

Get Book Here

Book Description
Excerpt from Evaluation of the U. S. Strategic Nuclear Triad: Hearing Before the Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Third Congress, First Session, June 10, 1993 It is my distinct honor to welcome our two witnesses who will address the issues raised in the gao report on the triad. Our first witness will be the Honorable Elea nor Chelimsky, Assistant Comptroller General for Program Evaluation and Meth odology, United States General Accounting Office. Our second witness on a separate panel will be the Honorable William J. Perry, Deputy Secretary of Defense, Depart ment of Defense. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Standing on One Leg: The Future of the Russian Nuclear Triad

Standing on One Leg: The Future of the Russian Nuclear Triad PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 51

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Russian nuclear triad has existed for over 40 years and has become a familiar part of the international military scene but will it continue to exist, and if so, in what form? This paper seeks to answer that question by examining recent professional journal articles by Russian and American experts alike, as well as Congressional testimony, academic studies, and a wide variety of national and international newspapers and periodicals. This study begins by describing the current Russian nuclear triad of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), ballistic missile nuclear submarines (SSBN), and strategic bombers. A discussion of the evolution of Russian nuclear weapons doctrine and policy to the current launch on warning doctrine is followed by a consideration of the seminal question in terms of pros and cons reasons why Russia might logically either retain or divest herself of her nuclear triad. After describing the smaller but more capable triad that might exist in 2010, this study closes by concluding that Russia views the triad as key to her national security and identity and will retain and modernize her nuclear triad, regardless of obstacles.