Enhancing Total Combat Power with Fewer Forces

The United States is about to reduce its military forces to levels not seen since before World War II. Even with the demise of the Warsaw Pact and improvements in relationships with the Soviet Union, however, the world remains an uncertain and often hostile place. The United States needs the means to minimize the risks to its security that could arise as forces are reduced. This can best be done by exploiting its technological advantages. Sensor-fuzed munition technology stands apart from other alternatives because it provides enormous gains in total combat capabilities without attendant liabilities. The marriage of sensor-fuzed munition technology with modern target acquisition and delivery systems will revolutionize conventional warfare just as the nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile revolutionized strategic warfare. Such a revolutionary change has major policy implications.