With revolutionary changes in nanotechnology (NT) now on the
horizon, many countries have started major research and development
(R&D) programmes, which are mainly civilian. Often overlooked
are military R&D programmes - in particular those of the US
government. This is the first systematic and comprehensive
presentation of the potential military applications of NT. In ten
to twenty years, these applications may include extremely small
computers, robots, missiles, satellites, launchers and sensors.
They may also provide lighter and stronger materials for vehicles
and weapons, implants in soldiers' bodies, metal-free firearms,
autonomous fighting systems, and smaller chemical and biological
weapons. These potential uses raise strong concerns. This
assessment is made from a viewpoint of international security,
considering the new criteria of dangers for arms control and the
international law of warfare, dangers for stability through
potential new arms races and proliferation, and dangers for humans
and society. Some military applications, such as computers, will be
so close to civilian uses that limits are impractical. Others, such
as sensors for biological-warfare agents, may contribute to
stronger protection against terrorist attacks and better
verification of compliance with arms-control treaties. For
preventive limitation of these new technologies, specific
approaches are proposed that balance positive civilian uses and
take into account verification of compliance, with a view to
international peace and security, not national military strength.
This book will be of great interest to scholars of military
technology, non-lethal weapons, disarmament and security studies in
general.
General
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