EXPLOITATION OF TACTICAL WARFARE TECHNOLOGY FOR STRATEGIC WARFARE

THE PROPOSED STUDY HAS FOUR OBJECTIVES: 1) FORMULATION OF CANDIDATE APPLICATIONS OF TACTICAL WARFARE TECHNOLOGY TO STRATEGIC WARFARE, 2) DOWNSELECTION OF CANDIDATE CONCEPTS TO SEVERAL MOST PROMISING FOR INVESTIGATION IN PHASE II EFFORT, 3) IDENTIFICATION OF RATIONALES FOR USE OF NON-NUCLEAR ICBMS, AND 4) FORMULATION OF CRITERIA FOR SELECTING TARGETS FOR NON-NUCLEAR ICBMS. TACTICAL WARFARE TECHNOLOGY APPLICATION CONCEPTS WILL BE DERIVED IA LITERATURE SEARCHING, POLLING THE DEFENSE COMMUNITY, AND CONCEPT SYNTHESIS, WITH DOWNSELECTION PERFORMED BY EVALUATING POTENTIAL BENEFITS AND TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY. THREE CANDIDATES ALREADY IDENTIFIED ARE TARGET-ACTIVATED FUZES, NONNUCLEAR WARHEADS FOR USE AGAINST HARDENED TARGETS, AND SPECIAL RVS FOR LASER-DESIGNATING TARGETS FOR PRECISION STRIKES. RATIONALES FOR NON-NUCLEAR ICBMS WILL BE BASED UPON CONSIDERATION OF THE DISADVANTAGES OF NUCLEAR ICBMS AND THE POTENTIAL EXPLOITABLE FEATURES OF NONNUCLEAR ICBMS. CRITERIA FOR SELECTING TARGETS FOR NON-NUCLEAR ICBMS WILL DERIVE FROM CONSIDERING SEVERAL TARGET CLASSES AND THE POTENTIAL PERFORMANCE OF NON-NUCLEAR ICBMS. IF SUCCESSFUL, THE PROPOSED STUDY COULD LEAD TO INCREASED EFFECTIVENESS OF USAF ICBMS AND THE ADDITION OF A NON-NUCLEAR STRIKE OPTION.