1. Deterrence, Détente and Star Wars
The Nuclear Arms Race
Deterrence, Détente and Star Wars

2. OVERVIEW In this lesson we examine: Beginnings of the arms race
The case for deterrence
Motivations for non-proliferation
Arms control
The effects of “Star Wars”

3. Beginnings
The US had a monopoly on atomic weapons from 1945 until 1949, when the Soviet Union exploded its own nuclear device.
Early fission weapons, such as Fat Man or Little Boy had yields of 12.5 kilotons of TNT and were delivered by bombers
By late the 1950s certain fusion weapons had yields of 24 megatons – approximately 1,000 times more powerful than fission weapons and were delivered by guided missiles
As nuclear weapons became more powerful and accurate, how did this affect their possibility of use?

4. The case for deterrence
Defense against nuclear attack is virtually impossible — safety can be achieved only by avoiding conflict
The power of nuclear weapons increases the possibility of retaliation by nations who possess such weapons
The destruction in nuclear retaliation greatly exceeds the value of any gains achieved by the initial attack - “mutually assured destruction”
As the Cold War increased in tensions, so did the arms race. Major reasons for deterrence were:

5. The case for deterrence
Short-range
Fired from artillery cannons or mobile rocket launchers (MRBM)
Often carried only one nuclear warhead
Long-range
Fired from fixed missile sites (IRBM & ICBM). Some ICBM’s carried multiple warheads (MIRV)
Fired from submarines (SLBM)
Dropped by long-range bombers (dummy bombs & cruise missiles)
Why was there such a need for the different types of nuclear weapons delivery?
Nuclear weapons were delivered by several different means

6. The case for deterrence
Both NATO and Warsaw Pact powers heavily developed and built technologies to counter these different threats; thus the arms race was not only limited to nuclear weapons but also associated weapons and technologies.
Once rocket and guidance technology developed throughout the 1950’s to 1960’s, nuclear missiles went from being MRBMs to IRBMs and then onto ICBM’s that contained about MIRV warheads capable of hitting multiple targets from a single missile
At the height of the Cold War during the 1960’s, the US had around 30,000 nuclear warheads; the combined number of nuclear warheads among all nations was around 70,000 – with each warhead capable of 20x the damage done at Hiroshima
Deterrence led to an increase in the number, strength and sophistication of nuclear weapons
If nuclear weapons increase in number and complexity, what becomes a significant and dangerous possibility? Why?

7. Towards non-proliferation
Cost
Nuclear weapons are complex and expensive to maintain
Even with a reduced stockpile of missiles, it now costs the US about $35 billion USD per year to maintain its nuclear arsenal
Proliferation
The greater the number of nuclear weapons = the greater the possibility of spreading nuclear weapons
Political or religious extremists may obtain nuclear weapons

8. Towards non-proliferation
Nuclear weapons are too powerful – even limited use results in fallout and nuclear winter
e.g. the Chernobyl reactor meltdown in 1986 resulted in local environmental damage and the global spread of fallout
How do you control nuclear weapons from spreading without giving up deterrence?

9. Arms control Context Question:
From the point of view of the US and the USSR, how might reducing the nuclear stockpile be beneficial for domestic development?

10. Arms control
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NNPT) (1970) – global treaty signed by many nations that agreed not to become armed with nuclear weapons and for nuclear-states not to attack non-nuclear powers unless they were allied with a nuclear power
Strategic Arms Limitations Talks (SALT) (1969) – talks between the US and USSR which led to two documents:
Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM) (1972) – regulated quantity and deployment of radar and detection systems but permitted further research; an attempt to prevent the arms race to extend beyond nuclear weapons
Interim Agreement on the Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (1972) – limited deployment of land and naval deployed nuclear weapons but permitted their improvement and refitting
SALT II Agreement (1979) – limited total numbers of fixed nuclear missile launchers and naval-deployed nuclear weapons; treaty was not ratified by the US Congress, but both powers agreed to abide by the treaty
Premier Khrushchev’s calls for “peaceful co-existence” did not initially result in nuclear arms control. From the 1960s onward, President Nixon’s “détente” (reduction of tension) led to the process of nuclear weapons control that would continue even after Nixon.

11. Arms control
The Helsinki Accords – 1974
During the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, 35 nations, including the US, USSR and Canada agreed to the de facto national boundaries that had existed since the end of World War II
Effects
This ended the controversy over the existence of West Germany and East Germany as promised by the Yalta and Potsdam agreements
The Accords were used as a defense by Eastern European countries against future Soviet interference in their affairs – any interference could be interpreted as a violation of national boundaries, human rights and sovereignty
How did the culture of arms reduction during the 1960s and 1970s affect Cold War tensions?

12. Re-escalation Context Question:
In WWI, how did the Entente powers overcome the stalemate of trench warfare?

13. Re-escalation
After President Reagan’s election in 1983, the US government proposed research and development of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) to detect and defend against missiles that had already been fired.

14. Re-escalation
Space-based
To use sensors for detection and guidance
To use “attack” satellites against missiles
To use space-based mirrors to direct ground-based lasers against enemy missiles
Ground-based
To use a supercomputer for guidance and control
To use lasers and high-speed projectile weapons
“Star Wars” as it was nicknamed, was a layered defense of two major systems:

15. Re-escalation
Reactions
Domestically, the project was seen as expensive and impossible - e.g. the projected total cost might have been $100 billion USD to $1 trillion USD
Internationally, the USSR protested that SDI was a violation of the ABM treaty of 1972
How would the SDI project have hastened the end of the Soviet Union even though most of the technology was only at the planning phase?

16. Re-escalation
What were the principles of nuclear deterrence and how did these motivate the US and USSR in the nuclear arms race?
What problems did the superpowers realize with nuclear deterrence? What steps did they take towards finding a solution?
Why did the US pursue the SDI program? How did this affect the USSR?