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Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > Weapons & equipment
Incidents of bioterrorism and biowarfare are likely to recur, leading to increased public concern and government action. The deficiencies of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) are in urgent need of attention: the BTWC is the central international agreement to prevent the proliferation of biological warfare programmes. Uniquely, this book is written by diplomats involved in the decade-long effort (1991-2001) in which State Parties to the BTWC tried to agree a Protocol to the Convention with legally binding measures to strengthen its effectiveness, and academics concerned with the negotiations. Just before negotiations foundered, when the Chairman's proposed text was virtually complete, the problems and proposed solutions were examined thoroughly, leading to this book. The book is wide-ranging in its review of the history of biological warfare, the reasons why the current biological revolution is of such concern, and the main features of the BTWC itself. The core of the book examines the key elements of the proposed protocol - declarations, visits, challenge-type investigations, and enhanced international cooperation - and the implications for government, industry and biodefence, giving us all a better understanding of what still remains to be done to avert a biowarfare catastrophe.
For over 40 years NATO and Warsaw Pact aircraft faced each other across the Iron Curtain, or fought in proxy wars around the world. Illustrated with detailed artworks of combat aircraft and their markings, Aircraft of the Cold War 1945-1991: Identification Guide is a comprehensive study of the planes in service with NATO and the Warsaw Pact and their respective units from the end of World War II until the reunification of Germany. Arranged chronologically by theatre, the book gives a complete organizational breakdown of the units of both sides, including the units and aircraft used in the proxy wars fought in Korea, Vietnam, the Middle East and elsewhere as well as the 'frontline' in Germany. Packed with 250 colour profiles of every major type of combat aircraft from the era, Aircraft of the Cold War 1945-1991 is an essential reference guide for modellers, military historians and aircraft enthusiasts.
Will the 21st century see terrorist fingers on the nuclear trigger? How likely is it terrorists will obtain weapons of mass destruction? What factors would determine their decision to use them? In this text the author assesses the causes for, and implications of, the escalating lethality of terrorism. The growing opportunities for nuclear proliferation, primarily arising from the collapse of the Soviet Union are explained. The book concludes that the organizational and psychological pressures within terrorist groups and the changing nature of political violence combined with the heightened danger of nuclear micro proliferation have made mass destructive terrorism the greatest non traditional threat to international security in the world today.
The nuclear arsenals of the United States and the Soviet Union are larger, better equipped, and deadlier than at any other time in history. This incisive book contends that the superpowers, while exhibiting enormous ingenuity in the area of arms development, have shown only a minimal interest toward the containment of arms. This is a carefully documented evaluation of the mismanagement of nuclear arms control by the superpowers, and of their failure to contain the nuclear arms race despite their involvement in the process for over a quarter of a century. Only the superpowers can reduce the proliferation of nuclear arms and in the process lessen the likelihood of nuclear war through accident, miscalculation, or crisis escalation. Yet forty-four years after Hiroshima, not a single wanted nuclear weapon has been eliminated by them. "The Superpowers and Nuclear Arms Control" addresses a broad spectrum of nuclear arms control issues, beginning with the history of the nuclear arms race, the lukewarm attempts by the superpowers at nuclear arms control, and the role of the nuclear havenots. The book then considers current threats to arms control evidenced by the termination of the SALT regime and plans to discard the ABM Treaty. A discussion of the congressional-executive split on numerous key arms control issues is followed by conclusions drawn from observing decades of negotiation. Comprehensive appendices contain valuable charts and other documents that reinforce the content of the text. This resource is a useful tool for arms control and disarmament activists, students, and researchers, and for the many men and women everywhere who are at a loss to understand why so little is being accomplished in this critical area.
Germany's battle for the skies
TASER (R) Conducted Electrical Weapons are rapidly replacing the club for law-enforcement control of violent subjects within many countries around the globe. A TASER CEW is a hand-held device that delivers a 400-volt pulse with a duration tuned to control the skeletal muscles without affecting the heart at a distance of up to 6.5 meters over tiny wires. If necessary, it begins with an arcing voltage of 50,000 V to penetrate thick clothing; the 50,000 V is never delivered to the body itself. Due to the widespread usage of these devices and the widespread misconceptions surrounding their operation, this book will have significant utility. This volume is written for cardiologists, emergency physicians, pathologists, law enforcement management, corrections personnel, and attorneys.
This volume affords a fascinating and rare look at the sensitive issue of nuclear diplomacy between two critical Cold War allies, the United States and Japan, during the 1960s. Challenging the silence of the official bureaucracies in Washington and Tokyo, Wakaizumi Kei reveals the truth behind the secret 1969 agreement that ensured the eventual reversion of Okinawa to Japanese jurisdiction in 1972. Revelation of this secret accord created considerable controversy in Japan when Wakaizumi's memoir was first published in 1994. With the publication of this translation, his description of the events leading up to the closed-door agreement is available to an English-language audience for the first time. At a time when security matters are once again predominant in the U.S. -- Japan alliance, Professor Wakaizumi's account is a timely reminder of the gap between official, media-filtered descriptions of diplomatic relations and the private discussions of national leaders. The long-standing reluctance of the Japanese government to declassify its postwar diplomatic records has meant that Japan's side of its relationship with the U.S. has been only partially revealed. The Best Course Available attempts to correct this shortcoming and at the same time provides insight into the complicated and arcane process of foreign policymaking, national leadership, and domestic politics in Japan after 1945.
In December 2020, the first Sukhoi Su-57, codenamed Felon by NATO, entered service with the Aerospace Forces, making it Russia's most recent combat aircraft. It is a multirole aircraft combining the functions of both a fighter and strike aircraft, with design features that include stealth, supersonic cruising speed and maneuverability, the latest sensors and weaponry, and network-centric warfare capability. Fully illustrated with over 170 full-colour photographs, this book describes the trials of the T-50 prototypes and the implementation of the Su-57 into series production, as well as looking at the design, characteristics and combat capabilities of this fifth-generation fighter. 170 illustrations
Jina Kim investigates how North Korea rationalized its pursuit of nuclear weapons programs for more than two decades, by exploring the dialectical development of the nuclear crisis and the obstacles generated by complex internal Korean dynamics and conflicting interests amongst the major players concerned.
"A study of the political, military and technical aspects of Britains nuclear weapons programme under the Macmillan government, contrasting Britains perceived political decline with its growth in technological mastery and military nuclear capability. Important reading for anyone interested in the history and military technology of the cold war"--Provided by publisher.
This book contains papers presented at the NATO Advanced Research Workshop titled "Application of Gun and Rocket Propellants in Commercial Explosives." (SST.ARW975981) The workshop was organized in collaboration with codirector Dr. Bronislav V. Matseevich (KNIIM) and held in Krasnoarmeisk, Moscow Region, Russia, October 18-21, 1999. About 70 participants from 11 different countries took part in the meeting (Russia, Belarus, Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium, China, USA, Spain, Israel, Ukraine and the Netherlands). The workshop was principally the continuation of a previous NATO workshop on Conversion Concepts for Commercial Application and Disposal Technologies of Energetic Systems" held at Moscow, Russia, May 17-19, 1994 in the specific area of the reuse of gun and rocket propellants as ingredients in commercial explosives. Oldrich Machacek Vll ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Dr. B.V. Matseevich, Director of the Krasnoarmeisk Scientific Research Institute of Mechanization ("KNIIM") for his extensive involvement as co-director in organizing the Advanced Research Workshop in Krasnoarmeisk, Russia. Special thanks goes to Dr. V.P. Glinskij, Dr. LV. Vasiljeva and A.I. Fedonina from KNIIM and Dr. B. Vetlicky for invaluable assistance in preparation and the smooth operation ofthe workshop.
With the fall of the Soviet Union, the political environment in Europe has changed dramatically, and security requirements for NATO countries have undergone a radical transformation. Yet, as illustrated by the recent bombing of Kosovo, restructuring of the defense industrial sectors in Europe lags behind the United States. The most egregious example is the armored vehicle sector, particularly in Britain, Germany, and France. Identifying five conditions necessary for restructuring the armored vehicle industry, this book looks at the absence or presence of these economic conditions in each of these countries and analyzes the impact on the armored vehicle industry. Comparing these countries to the United States, where the armored vehicle industry has restructured as fully and as ruthlessly as the defense aerospace and electronic industries, the author shows private ownership, flexible capital and labor markets, a profitable scale of production, a lack of commercial diversification, and an active state defense industrial policy to be necessary prerequisites. All five factors exist in the United States, whereas two or more are missing in the European countries, retarding development of this industry.
This book records the World War II experiences of Captain Elmer E. Haynes, who flew low-altitude night radar strikes against Japanese shipping in the South China Sea, and daylight raids against various enemy land based installations in eastern and central China. Haynes flew secretly developed B-24 Liberator bombers that were equipped with radar which had been integrated with the Norden bombsight for night missions. These B-24's operated with the 14th Air Force--General Chennault's Flying Tigers. The bombing attacks were so accurate and successful that, in a little over a year, Haynes and his fellow pilots had sunk approximately a million tons of Japanese shipping. Due to the Top Secret classification of this equipment, the story of the radar B-24's, operating with the Flying Tigers, has never before been told. The war in the Pacific was definitely brought to a quicker end by the devastating destruction caused by the sinking of such a tremendous number of Japanese merchant and naval vessels in the South China Sea. In its three years of operation, the 14th Air Force was credited with sinking two and a half million tons of enemy shipping. The radar-equipped B-24's were also used on reconnaissance missions--locating Japanese convoys for U.S. naval ships and submarines. Military historians, and anyone interested in World War II, will find this story highly informative, since it discloses never before published facts about the development of radar systems by the United States. This same radar technique was used by B-17's during the saturation night bombing raids over Germany.
This comprehensive engineering-level resource provides an introduction to electronic warfare (EW) for communication systems. Extensively referenced with over 600 equations, it details the components, systems, and operations of electronic warfare systems dedicated to protecting and attacking military communications networks. The volume provides a complete understanding of how modern direction finders for communication signals work, along with their limitations. The book also helps the reader acquire a working knowledge of hyperbolic emitter location technologies, and shows how to measure performance, defining the basic operations necessary for communication EW systems.
Here is a history of the development of military missiles and space travel from World War II to the American visits to the Moon in 1969-1972. It stresses the relationship between the early stages of space exploration and the arms race, and that a dual path led to space flight. One was the development of unmanned long-range war rockets, the other, less often noted, was the rocket-powered research plane. The first path led through the intercontinental ballistic missile to the first artificial satellites and space capsule; the latter, more uniquely American, through the X-series and Skyrocket rocket planes to the X-15, and ultimately to the Space Shuttle. The early part of the book focuses on the Soviet-American race to develop the ICBM in the 1950s, and the first satellites, with particular attention paid to the events and reactions that followed the flight of Sputnik I in 1957 and the subsequent missile gap era.
A range of threats in the areas of safety and security, from natural disasters to terrorism to conventional warfare, involve complex interactions that are beyond the scope and capabilities of traditional problem solving techniques. ""Applications of Information Systems to Homeland Security and Defense"" provides an overview of complex systems' techniques and presents both guidelines and specific instances of how they can be applied to security and defense applications. In today's uncertain times, these techniques can provide a breakthrough in the capability to model, plan and respond to critical events in modern society. ""Applications of Information Systems to Homeland Security and Defense"" is a must read for anyone who is interested in the areas of security and defense, as well as for undergraduate and postgraduate students who are eager to learn about the applications of complex adaptive systems to real-life problems.
During the final year of World War II, the defending Axis forces were steadily driven from southern skies by burgeoning Anglo-American power. This was despite the steady withdrawal of units to more demanding areas. In this fifth volume of the series the activities of the Allied tactical air forces in support of the armies on the ground – as their opponents were steadily extracted from northern Italy and the Balkans for the final defence of the central European homeland – are described in detail. The book commences with coverage of the final fierce air-sea battles over the Aegean which preceded the advance northwards to Rome and the ill-conceived British attempt to secure the Dodecanese islands following the armistice with Italy. The authors also deal fully and comprehensively with the advance northwards following the occupation of Rome, and the departure of forces to support the invasion of France from the Riviera coast, coupled with the formation of a new Balkan Air Force in eastern Italy to pursue the German armies withdrawing from Yugoslavia and take possession of newly freed Greece. The effect of the creation within the same area of the US and RAF strategic forces to join the Allied Combined Bombing Offensive is discussed. The final volume in the series will be concerned most especially with this latter campaign.
For most of the twentieth century, social scientists have attempted to understand the causes of military competition. From this struggle has evolved the Richardson Tradition of Arms Race Analysis, a distinct body of scientific literature that uses a variety of mathematical techniques and theoretical ideas to solve the puzzle of what drives military interaction among nations. Etcheson explores this intellectual journey and projects the paths along which the Richardson Tradition must go if it is to obtain its objective: understanding and control of potentially unnecessary organized social violence. Arms Race Theory examines thoroughly the literature of the Richardson Tradition, from the writings of Lewis Fry Richardson through the most recent attempts of his students to resolve the fundamental questions about interaction in arms races. Etcheson documents the application of the procedures of positive physical science to social problems and identifies the reasons why Richardson and his students have been frustrated in their efforts. According to the author, students of the Richardson Tradition adhere to an atomistic and reductionist perspective that denies the relevance of human values and intentions. He focuses on the idea of strategy as a gateway to an understanding of the social causes of arms accumulation. Etcheson prepares the way for a new phase in the Richardson Tradition by identifying new theoretical foci and methodological techniques. His analysis, coupled with the most comprehensive bibliography of the literature of the Richardson Tradition currently available, is a significant contribution to the growing body of scholarship in peace research and international relations theory.
This book constitutes a multidisciplinary introduction to the analysis of air defence systems. It supplies the tools to carry out independent analysis. Individual sections deal with threat missions, observability, manoeuvrability and vulnerability. With the support of several examples, the text illustrates 12 air defence process models. These models form the foundation for any air defence system analysis, covering initial detection to kill assessment.
This third volume of the book series on Nuclear Non-Proliferation in International Law focuses on the development and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes within a contemporary global context, an interdependent characteristic of the Non-Proliferation Treaty along with disarmament and non-proliferation. The scholarly contributions in this volume explore this interrelationship, considering the role of nation States as well as international organizations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in monitoring and implementing the Treaty. The 2015 Nuclear Accord with Iran and its implementation is also discussed, highlighting relevant developments in this evolving area. Overall, the volume explores relevant issues, ultimately presenting a number of suggestions for international cooperation in this sensitive field where political discussion often dominates over legal analysis. The important tasks of limiting the proliferation of nuclear weapons, ensuring the safety and security of peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and achieving nuclear disarmament under strict and effective international control, calls for the interpretation and application of international legal principles and rules in their relevant context, a task that this book series endeavours to facilitate whilst presenting new information and evaluating current developments in this area of international law. Jonathan L. Black-Branch is Dean of Law and Professor of International and Comparative Law at Robson Hall, Faculty of Law, University of Manitoba; a Barrister at One Garden Court, London; a Magistrate in Oxfordshire; a Justice of the Peace for England & Wales; a Member of Wolfson College, University of Oxford; and Chair of the International Law Association (ILA) Committee on Nuclear Weapons, Non-Proliferation & Contemporary International Law. Dieter Fleck is Former Director International Agreements & Policy, Federal Ministry of Defence, Germany; Member of the Advisory Board of the Amsterdam Center for International Law (ACIL); and Rapporteur of the International Law Association (ILA) Committee on Nuclear Weapons, Non-Proliferation & Contemporary International Law.
Scientific and technological change in the life sciences is
currently transforming the problem of preventing biological warfare
and biological terrorism. This transformation will demand a radical
and rigorous new approach to biochemical arms control, for which
the existing prohibition regimes for chemical and biological
weapons are necessary but insufficient building blocks. Examples
from the areas of immunology, the neurosciences, and the
neuroendocrine-immune system are used to show the magnitude of the
problem. The final section of the book will then outline additional
measures required to control biochemical weapons in the 21st
century.
Until now little attention has been paid to the development of military capabilities designed to target food crops with biological warfare agents. This book represents the first substantive study of state-run activities in this field. It shows that all biological warfare programs have included a component concerned with the development of anti-crop agents and munitions. Current concern over the proliferation of biological weapons is placed in the context of the initiative to strengthen the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. The author concludes that the risks posed by this form of warfare can be minimized by implementation of regimes concerning the peaceful use and control of plant pathogens that pose a risk to human health and the environment.
Why do some American intelligence officials maintain fallout shelters and private contingency plans to evacuate their families in the event of a Russian nuclear strike--even in today's post-Cold War era of U.S.-Russian partnership? The frightening answer lies within the pages of "War Scare," a terrifying assessment of the prospect for nuclear holocaust in our day. Written by Peter Vincent Pry, a former CIA military analyst, "War Scare" provides a history of our country's little-known brushes with nuclear war and warns that, contrary to popular opinion and the assurances of our political leaders, the possibility of a Russian attack still exists. Nuclear deterrence has been the foundation of Western security for the last 50 years, but since the end of the Cold War, Russian military doctrine has become more destabilizing, and much more dangerous, than is commonly believed. By making use of a wealth of declassified and unclassified material, Dr. Pry illustrates how Russia's brutal past continues to shape the consciousness and decision making of its leaders, many of whom are unreconstructed ideologues from the old Soviet regime. Gripped by a perpetual perception of imminent threat--a war scare--the Russian General Staff, which controls the technical capability of launching a nuclear strike, has shown itself to be unstable at best. The author explores recent history and near-disasters such as the Bosnian crisis, the Norway missile incident, and U.S. air strikes on Iraq from the perspective of the Russian General Staff, believing that only by understanding their viewpoint can we minimize the risk of unintentionally provoking a deadly attack. Wary of NATO expansion and reeling from the Russian economy's descent into chaos, the General Staff may interpret Western military exercises and operations in the Middle East and elsewhere as concealing surprise aggression against Russia. This is a grave situation, indeed, as even after the START I, II, and III agreements, Russia will retain enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world--not to mention significantly expanded chemical and biological warfare capability. "War Scare" convincingly shows that we ignore these facts at our peril.
In the late 1940s, the U.S. Department of Defense established a nuclear weapons depository in the Manzano Mountains of New Mexico. For more than 40 years, Manzano Base served as a maintenance and storage site for some of the most destructive weapons ever created. Operated by the U.S. Air Force, the facility was small and obscure, with highly restricted access. Its covert mission fostered a sense of mystery, leaving the public to speculate about what really went on there. The site was decommissioned in 1992 yet its rich history continues to influence America's nuclear weapons program. This book tells the full story of Manzano and the personnel who served there. Firsthand accounts recall their experiences of nuclear weapons accidents, aircraft crashes, UFO/UAF sightings and a radiation demonstration called "tickling the tiger's tail. |
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