The Command and Control of Nuclear War

Abstract

Nuclear weapons and strategic policy attract increasing public concern, but systems for command, control, communications and intelligence, C/sup 3/I, may be just as important in deterring nuclear attack and preventing escalation. This paper is devoted exclusively to C/sup 3/I and discusses specifically its four parts: command posts; sensors; communications links; and procedures for the use of all this equipment. It is concluded that although money and effort can and should be spent to improve C/sup 3/I, no level of effort can ever dispel the fundamental unpredictability of nuclear war. Further, in most cases, one cannot foresee precisely the physical effects that would determine the C/sup 3/I systems behavior, much less predict the interaction of people and machines in chaotic circumstances they can never fully anticipate.