Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) remains one of the most significant threats to the national security of the United States and is one of the most complex strategic issues due to the far reaching effects caused by the mere possession of such weapons by a nation state. While in the past the development of WMD has been primarily for deterrent effects, today the threat encompasses the potential of terrorist organizations to utilize these weapons for furtherance of their ideals and execution of terrorist attacks. Deterring the use and proliferation of these weapons is vital, and the U.S inclination is towards accomplishing this task without employing the use of our nuclear capability.
The U.S. has the ability to execute a powerful global strike with conventional munitions anywhere in the world at any time, but the deterrent effect of these conventional weapons in comparison to nuclear munitions is limited. The ability for long range strike against a nuclear site in a prompt and decisive manner is critical. Hypersonic vehicles would greatly improve this capability and could become a key pillar of the U.S. deterrence policy. While hypersonic flight comes with its challenges, the advances in technology are promising and they would provide a unique competence to the US deterrence strategy, thereby reducing the need for nuclear action on our part. Lastly, should our efforts in deterrence fail, these platforms would provide an invaluable pre-emptive strike capability. …show more content…
national security. Air Force Doctrine Document 2-12 (2009) lists the definition of deterrence as:
“Deterrence is the prevention from action by fear of the consequences. Deterrence is a state of mind brought about by the existence of a credible threat of unacceptable counteraction” (p.
The U.S. has the ability to execute a powerful global strike with conventional munitions anywhere in the world at any time, but the deterrent effect of these conventional weapons in comparison to nuclear munitions is limited. The ability for long range strike against a nuclear site in a prompt and decisive manner is critical. Hypersonic vehicles would greatly improve this capability and could become a key pillar of the U.S. deterrence policy. While hypersonic flight comes with its challenges, the advances in technology are promising and they would provide a unique competence to the US deterrence strategy, thereby reducing the need for nuclear action on our part. Lastly, should our efforts in deterrence fail, these platforms would provide an invaluable pre-emptive strike capability. …show more content…
national security. Air Force Doctrine Document 2-12 (2009) lists the definition of deterrence as:
“Deterrence is the prevention from action by fear of the consequences. Deterrence is a state of mind brought about by the existence of a credible threat of unacceptable counteraction” (p.