Precision Guided Munitions: Implications for Detente

Abstract : No consensus has yet developed regarding the meaning or impact of new high-technology tactical weapons systems, either with respect to the military balance in Europe or in the larger context of East-West relations and detente. Some writers believe that a radical shift in the tactical military balance may be underway, possibly approaching a point of departure from traditional reliance upon nuclear weapons. This article first reviews the time-honored debate over the defensibility of Western Europe without recourse to tactical nuclear weapons. It then introduces the new dimension represented by precision-guided munitions and related technology and identifies the principal intellectual schools which have developed as a result. Finally, it transcends the debate to seek out and to explore the likely implications of the opposing points of view for western security.