Avatar photoNew Triad 4: ChiCom EMP Threat?

During this morning’s panel on Nuclear Weapons and the New Triad, former Chairman of the Defense Science Board John Foster warned of electromagnetic pulse (EMP) threats, including: ChiCOMs, in the context of the 7th Fleet’s possible defense of Taiwan. I’ve not see a lot about this subject, although the subject apparently came up in some …

Avatar photoNew Triad 3: Obering On Missile Defense

MDA Director Trey Obering offered two thinly veiled “hypothetical” scenarios that illustrated his case for missile defense. Scenario 1: North Korea tests a nuclear weapon and a ballistic missile capable of carrying the weapon to the United States. North Korea demands the United States remove all its forces from the Korean peninsula or lose Los …

Avatar photoNew Triad 2: Cambone on the New Triad

I never understood why a “responsive infrastructure” was one of the three legs of the “New Triad.” Along with offenses and defenses, I always thought Command, Control and Intelligence (C2I) was the more logical candidate. It makes sense on logical grounds—Satellites that gather intelligence and handle communications are similar to missiles that delive nuclear weapons …

Avatar photoNew Triad 1: Tailored Deterrence

I’ve been hearing rumblings about this concept called “Tailored Deterrence” (One also sees the cumbersome phrase Tailorable Deterrence). The concept got a relatively thorough explanation in this morning’s keynote at the IPFA-Flecter Conference by Principal Deputy Undersecretary of Defense (Policy) Ryan Henry. (Henry was followed by DASD for Forces Policy Brian Green, who went over …