The Last Thirty Seconds
The Last Thirty Seconds

Author: David K. Stumpf

Publisher: University of Arkansas Press

Published: 2024-09-09

Total Pages: 202

ISBN-13: 1610758250

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In March 1983, as the world’s superpowers continued aggressively stockpiling nuclear weapons, President Ronald Reagan described his vision for a world no longer confronted with the concept of mutually assured destruction. A year later the Strategic Defense Initiative was established, followed soon after by the creation of the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO). The SDIO was tasked with the development and coordination of missile technologies designed for the strategic defense against civilization’s most dangerous invention, one that carried with it the threat of nuclear destruction—intercontinental ballistic missiles. In The Last Thirty Seconds: A Brief History of the Evolution of Hit-to-Kill Technology, David K. Stumpf details the development of one of many possible solutions for ballistic missile defense commonly known as hit-to-kill. Hit-to-kill is a nonnuclear technique using kinetic energy, rather than explosives, to destroy reentry vehicles carrying chemical, biological, or nuclear warheads. It is the centerpiece of the United States’ current ballistic missile defense systems and has proven invaluable in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia as well as in the ongoing conflict with the Houthi rebels in the Red Sea. While much of the subject remains classified, this detailed study will be welcomed for its substantial references and the inclusion of newly declassified material.

Seize the High Ground
Seize the High Ground

Author: James A. Walker

Publisher: Government Printing Office

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 380

ISBN-13:

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"[Seize the high ground is a] narrative history of the Army's aerospace experience from the 1950s to the present. The focus is on ballistic missile defense, from the early NIKE-HERCULES missile program through the SAFEGUARD acquisition site allowed by the 1972 ABM Treaty to the more advanced 'Star Wars' concepts studies toward the end of the century. [What is] covered is not only the technological response to the threat but the organizational and tactical development of the commands and units responsible for the defense mission"--CMH website.

The Strategic Defense Initiative
The Strategic Defense Initiative

Author: Edward Reiss

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1992-07-23

Total Pages: 265

ISBN-13: 0521410975

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This history of the Strategic Defense Initiative ranges across politics, economics, strategic studies and international relations, and provides the latest research into the SDI interest groups, the distribution of contracts, and the politics of influence. It discusses the wider contexts of 'Star Wars', such as alliance management, marketing, and domestic politics, and its military spin-offs, especially for anti-satellite (ASAT) and 'space control' programmes. The author tests the theoretical literature on the dynamics of the arms race by using SDI as a case study, and draws evidence from sources such as congressional hearings, interviews, the trade press, restricted briefing papers, and documents obtained under the US Freedom of Information Act. The book follows the fortunes of strategic defence into the changed global conditions of the 1990s, following the collapse of the Soviet bloc, the Gulf War, and President Bush's announcement of a refocused SDI, the Global Protection Against Limited Strikes (GPALS).

Security Studies for the 1990s
Security Studies for the 1990s

Author: Richard H. Shultz

Publisher: Potomac Books

Published: 1993

Total Pages: 440

ISBN-13:

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"The United States is grappling with a new security framework to replace the structure of the Cold War era. American policymakers face a host of challenges, including regional conflicts, ethnic tensions, and weapons proliferation, that commanded little attention in the past. And tomorrow is likely to bring new concerns barely on today's horizon." "Despite these changes, the study of national security remains largely a creature of the Cold War. The security studies discipline needs to be overhauled. But how should it be revised so that tomorrow's citizens and experts are equipped to understand and help manage new challenges?" "One option is to downgrade security studies and divert educational resources elsewhere. Another is to redefine the subject to include the study of an all encompassing list of international problems. The third choice is to retain basic definitions, concepts, and subjects, while also making significant adjustments. Security Studies for the 1990s addresses all three options." "This book is the first to reexamine security studies in the post-Cold War era. Scholars and directors from leading security studies programs representing a cross section of viewpoints on foreign affairs discuss what new material needs to be taught and which courses and concepts should be recast. Each chapter provides an indepth review of a major security studies course, proposing needed changes and a model syllabus. Subjects include intelligence policy, global environmental problems, the causes and termination of wars, and collective security. A chapter on the teaching of ethics, a subject often neglected in the past, is also featured."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved