CONCEPTS FOR ENHANCING ICBM FORCE EFFECTIVENESS BASED ON IMPROVED INFORMATION

FUTURE PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE U.S. ICBM FORCE WILL BE EVEN MORE DEMANDING THAN TODAY'S GIVEN SUBSTANTIALLY UNCHANGED STRATEGIC FORCE MISSION REQUIREMENTS. CONTINUING CHANGES IN THE SOVIET TARGET BASE WILL ACCOUNT IN LARGE MEASURE FOR THE DIFFICULTIES FACED BY THE ICBM FORCE IN MAINTAINING ITS MISSION EFFECTIVENESS. DEEP BURIAL, SUPERHARDENING, AND MOBILITY OF SOVIET TARGETS ALL INCREASE THE NEED FOR HIGHLY EFFECTIVE WEAPONS. LIKELY ARMS CONTROL LIMITS ASSOCIATED WITH THE FUTURE ENVIRONMENT WILL PLACE AN ADDITIONAL PREMIUM ON ICBM EFFICIENCY. THE ENHANCEMENT OF EXISTING SOVIET ABM DEFENSE WOULD FURTHER COMPLICATE ICBM REQUIREMENTS. INFORMATION COLLECTED BY THE STRATEGIC DEFENSE SYSTEM (SDS) SENSOR AND BM/C3 ELEMENTS, AS WELL AS BY OTHER MILITARY SPACE ASSETS, HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PROVIDE NEW AND ENHANCED DATA IN REAL-TIME TO ICBM FORCES. ICBM ENHANCEMENT CONCEPTS UTILIZING SUCH INFORMATION ARE SYNTHESIZED IN THIS PROJECT AND ARE ELABORATED WITHIN A CONSTRUCT OF INFORMATION STATES THAT ARE RELEVANT FOR TESTING THE UTILITY OF ODI CONCEPTS FOR ICBM ENHANCEMENT. FROM THAT ANALYSIS, SRS IDENTIFIES THE SUPPORTING TECHNOLOGIES REQUIRED TO EXPLOIT NEW INFORMATION DURING AN ICBM'S PRE-LAUNCH, BOOST, AND RE-ENTRY PHASES. POTENTIAL IMPACTS ON TW/AA, RAPID RETARGETING, SIOP-FOLLOWING, AND ICBM LETHALITY ARE THE FOCUS OF THIS PROJECT.