Defending Against Ballistic Missile Attacks: The Concept of Defensive Deterrence

Washington, DC: George C. Marshall Institute, 1990. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. [8], 211, [5] pages. Figures. Map. Tables. Notes. Glossary. Index. Publisher's ephemera laid in. Part I: Defending Against Missiles. Part II: Strategic Background. Part III: Technical Background. James J. Frelk was the executive Director of the George C. Marshall Institute. He was formerly a National Security Affairs Analyst for the House Republican Study Committee and served as a liaison to the National Security Advisor. Glen E. Tait was a defense analysts at the George C. Marshall Institute and a specialist in International Relations. The George C. Marshall Institute (GMI) was a nonprofit conservative think tank in the United States. It was established in 1984 with a focus on science and public policy issues and was initially active mostly in the area of defense policy. The George C. Marshall institute was founded in 1984 by Frederick Seitz (former President of the United States National Academy of Sciences), Robert Jastrow (founder of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies), and William Nierenberg (former director of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography). The institute's primary aim was to play a role in defense policy debates, defending Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative. In particular, it sought to defend SDI "from attack by the Union of Concerned Scientists, and in particular by the equally prominent physicists Hans Bethe, Richard Garwin, and astronomer Carl Sagan." The institute argued that the Soviet Union was a military threat. A 1987 article by Jastrow argued that in five years the Soviet Union would be so powerful that it would be able to achieve world domination without firing a shot. Missile defense technology being developed, tested and deployed by the United States is designed to counter ballistic missiles of all ranges—short, medium, intermediate and long. Since ballistic missiles have different ranges, speeds, size and performance characteristics, the Ballistic Missile Defense System is an integrated, "layered" architecture that provides multiple opportunities to destroy missiles and their warheads before they can reach their targets. The system's architecture includes:

networked sensors (including space-based) and ground- and sea-based radars for target detection and tracking;
ground- and sea-based interceptor missiles for destroying a ballistic missile using either the force of a direct collision, called "hit-to-kill" technology, or an explosive blast fragmentation warhead;
and a command, control, battle management, and communications network providing the operational commanders with the needed links between the sensors and interceptor missiles.
Missile defense elements are operated by United States military personnel from U.S. Strategic Command, U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Pacific Command, U.S. Forces Japan, U.S. European Command and others. The United States has missile defense cooperative programs with a number of allies, including United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Israel, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Poland, Italy and many others. The Missile Defense Agency also actively participates in NATO activities to maximize opportunities to develop an integrated NATO ballistic missile defense capability.
Condition: Very good / Very good.

Keywords: Nuclear Weapons, Deterrence, ABM Treaty, Directed Energy, ICBM, Proliferation, Spaced-Based, SDI, Ballistic Missiles, Battle Management, Countermeasures, First Strike, Strategic Defense

ISBN: 0915463571

[Book #39085]

Price: $60.00