The Political Economy of Weapons Procurement: The Follow-on Imperative
2016; American Economic Association; Volume: 62; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1944-7981
Autores Tópico(s)Defense, Military, and Policy Studies
ResumoHow can major cases of American weapons procurement be explained? Why, for example, does United States buy MIRV, despite expert testimony about grave dangers that it will bring? With its high accuracy in targeting, its high number of warheads, and its high immunity to aerial surveillance, MIRV can provoke a Soviet fear of an American first strike against Soviet land-based missiles and can provoke Soviets into acquiring their own MIRVs, perhaps leading again to the reciprocal fear of surprise attack and the delicate balance of terror of 1950's. Why does United States buy a costly A BM system, despite expert testimony that it will not work, given ease with which Soviets could overload system with a dense attack? And why does United States buy such costly aircraft as F- tIl, with its frequent crashes and repeated groundings, C-5A, with its mechanical failures and recent grounding, and B-1, said to be obsolete even before first prototype is built?
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