The purpose of this book is to provide graduate students, professional engineers, military officers, and weapons-systems planners with a comprehensive grounding in the technology, evolution, functions, costs, impacts on society, utility, and limi tations of modern strategic weapons systems. Since the subject is often left to the specialists, this work should introduce the general reader to the fundamentals of such systems in an informed manner. Nowadays the intense interaction of means and ends sym bolized by strategic weapons has stimulated a changing dis cipline in which new missile systems and the intricate logic of nuclear force and counterforce hold the stage alongside the truths of conflict, alliances, fears, games, and subtle gains and losses. Many readers with new personal interest or public responsibility in this complex field will require an overall guide to it. This book will not prepare the reader to become an expert in the vast subject of strategic weapons systems. It will, however, enable him to understand, evaluate, and form reasonable opinions about these systems, their capabilities and effective ness. The subject is dealt with more from the viewpoint of the user (investor) rather than the architect (systems engineer) and builder (design engineer). While the user will be concerned with both political as well as technical options which may be available to solve a problem, the systems and design engineers are concerned with analyzing and building technological weapons devices once their requirements are generally known.

"Philosophy and science"--Jacket. Bibliography: p. [242]-257. Includes index.

This volume brings together an international group of distinguished scholars to provide a fresh assessment of China's strategic military capabilities, doctrines, and its political perceptions in light of rapidly advancing technologies, an expanding and modernizing nuclear arsenal, and increased great-power competition with the United States.

Since 1990, the DoD mgmt. of major weapon system acquisitions has been designated a high-risk area. DoD has taken some action to improve acquisition outcomes, but its weapons programs continue to take longer, cost more, and deliver fewer capabilities than originally planned. Over the next 5 years, DoD plans to invest about $900 billion to develop and procure weapons systems -- the highest level of investment in two decades. This testimony describes DoD¿s current weapons system investment portfolio, the problems that contribute to cost and schedule increases, and the potential impacts of recent legislative initiatives and DoD actions aimed at improving outcomes. Charts and tables.

This book comprehensively outlines and evaluates the key Obama nuclear weapons policies, developments and initiatives from 2008–2012. Beginning with the administration’s vision and goals posited in the 2009 Prague Speech and reaffirmed in the National Security Strategy of 2010, the book assesses the congressionally mandated Nuclear Posture Review, the New START Treaty, the pursuit of Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty ratification, the Proliferation Security Initiative, the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Review Conference, the Global Nuclear Security Summit – and the extent to which Obama, in the context of such initiatives, has actually upheld the lofty goals posited in Prague and differentiated himself from the nuclear path pursued by the Bush Administration. Additionally, the book evaluates the Obama Administration’s dealings with other states in the context of its nuclear weapons policy – in particular, North Korea, Iran, Pakistan, Israel, India, and China. Offering a comprehensive analysis of the current status of the US nuclear weapons strategy, this volume will be of great interest to scholars and students of American foreign policy, security studies and international relations.