Table Of ContentTHUNDER OVER THE
HORIZON
PRAEGER SECURITY INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD
Board Cochairs
Loch K.Johnson,Regents Professor ofPublic and International Affairs,School ofPublic
and International Affairs,University ofGeorgia (U.S.A.)
Paul Wilkinson,Professor ofInternational Relations and Chairman ofthe
Advisory Board,Centre for the Study ofTerrorism and Political Violence,
University ofSt.Andrews (U.K.)
Members
The late Vice Admiral Arthur K.Cebrowski,USN (Ret.),former Director ofForce
Transformation,Office ofthe Secretary ofDefense (U.S.A.)
Eliot A.Cohen,Robert E.Osgood Professor ofStrategic Studies and Director,
Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies,Paul H.Nitze School ofAdvanced
International Studies,The Johns Hopkins University (U.S.A.)
Anthony H.Cordesman,Arleigh A.Burke Chair in Strategy,Center for Strategic and
International Studies (U.S.A.)
Thérèse Delpech,Senior Research Fellow,CERI (Atomic Energy Commission),
Paris (France)
Sir Michael Howard,former Professor ofHistory ofWar,Oxford University,and
Professor ofMilitary and Naval History,Yale University (U.K.)
Lieutenant General Claudia J.Kennedy,USA (Ret.),former Deputy ChiefofStafffor
Intelligence,Headquarters,Department ofthe Army (U.S.A.)
Paul M.Kennedy,J.Richardson Dilworth Professor ofHistory and Director,
International Security Studies,Yale University (U.S.A.)
Robert J.O’Neill,former Chichele Professor ofthe History ofWar,All Souls College,
Oxford University (Australia)
Shibley Telhami,Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development,Department of
Government and Politics,University ofMaryland (U.S.A.)
JusufWanandi,co-founder and member,Board ofTrustees,Centre for Strategic and
International Studies (Indonesia)
Fareed Zakaria,Editor,Newsweek International (U.S.A.)
THUNDER OVER
THE HORIZON
From V-2 Rockets to Ballistic Missiles
Clayton K. S. Chun
War,Technology, and History
Robert Citino, Series Editor
PRAEGER SECURITY INTERNATIONAL
Westport, Connecticut • London
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Chun,Clayton K.S.
Thunder over the horizon : from V-2 rockets to ballistic missiles / Clayton
K.S.Chun.
p. cm.—(War,technology,and history,ISSN 1556–4924)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0–275–98577–6 (alk.paper)
1. Rocketry—History. 2. Rockets (Aeronautics)—History. 3. Rockets
(Ordnance)—History. 4. Guided missiles—History. I. Title. II. Series.
TL781.C488 2006
621.43'56—dc22 2005032678
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.
Copyright © 2006 by Clayton K.S.Chun
All rights reserved.No portion of this book may be
reproduced,by any process or technique,without the
express written consent of the publisher.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number:2005032678
ISBN:0–275–98577–6
ISSN:1556–4924
First published in 2006
Praeger Security International,88 Post Road West,Westport,CT 06881
An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group,Inc.
www.praeger.com
Printed in the United States ofAmerica
TM
The paper used in this book complies with the
Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Introduction vii
1. Ballistic Missile Fundamentals:How Ballistic Missiles Work 1
2. V-2:The Dawn of a New Age 39
3. Cold War:Push-Button Warfare 57
4. The Cuban Missile Crisis 87
5. Ballistic Missiles at War:The Case of Iraq 109
6. Ballistic Missile Proliferation 141
7. Ballistic Missiles Reinvent National Strategy and Policy 169
8. Ballistic Missiles and the Impact of Technology 183
Appendix:Tables 199
Selected Bibliography 209
Index 213
Introduction
HISTORY IS FILLED WITHexamples ofnew weapons and technologies that
have revolutionized warfare.Man’s introduction of gunpowder,the airplane,
and other discoveries have changed the nature of warfare forever. Ballistic
missiles have done the same since World War II. These new weapons have
provided a nation the capability to bypass the battlefield and hit a capital city
or strategic target with relative impunity.Ballistic missiles,coupled with nu-
clear weapons, have made profound changes to international relations, re-
gional balances of power, and how countries think about conflict. Whole
national strategies have been devised to incorporate their effects and how a
state should treat an enemy who possesses them.
The United States and the former Soviet Union developed and controlled
vast missile inventories that threatened mutual annihilation all within thirty
minutes. Fortunately, these weapons were never used, but their legacy con-
tinues to haunt the world. The cold war ended with the United States and
countries from the former Soviet Union trying to disarm their strategic nu-
clear force.However,these delivery systems have found new lives among na-
tions wishing to influence regional and global rivals.Today,one can see these
weapon systems and others in North Korean and Iranian arsenals. Some
countries have acquired ballistic missiles to expand their ability to hit only
battlefield targets and treat them as mere extensions of field artillery.Others
have sought them as a way to counter an existing threat that they could not
counter with conventional weapons. These weapons also offer a path to ex-
pand technologies to allow for space launches or a means to demonstrate na-
tional pride.Ballistic missile development and deployment offer a wide range
of ways to enhance a country’s military,political,and economic capabilities.
For many nations,the introduction of ballistic missiles by a regional rival
viii Introduction
or foe has sparked an almost instant panic and movement to counter this
threat.As in the cold war,nations have rushed to build rival systems,create
a capability or policy to counter the threat,or press for negotiations to stop
or remove the threat.Some ofthese fears are legitimate,while others are mere
rhetoric.This book explains many questions and issues concerning these de-
livery vehicles.It explores how they work,their use,and their impact in war
and peace.Specially,the book examines how the systems and components op-
erate.Understanding how these weapons work provides the reader an aware-
ness ofthe technical challenges that scientists and engineers had to overcome.
Next, several case studies are presented to illustrate how nations have used
and developed these systems. The case studies include the Germans’ use of
the V-2 in World War II,the United States’development of ballistic missiles,
the Cuban Missile Crisis,and Iraq’s conflicts with Iran and the 1991 Persian
Gulf War. Additionally, this study examines how the United States’ nuclear
strategy developed with the introduction of these systems.The book also in-
vestigates today’s proliferation of ballistic missiles. This study presents the
reader a summary review ofnations that pose the biggest threats to the United
States or its interests.Finally,the book ties the effects that technology had on
several key national and military security topics. New technology changed
warfare concepts, national strategy, and organizations and helped introduce
a new military field,space,during this period.
Today the spread of technology through instant information, globaliza-
tion,shifting international and political interests,the rise ofregional rivalries,
and other factors have contributed greatly to ballistic missile proliferation.In
many cases,this proliferation has complicated the national strategies and se-
curity of countries from the United States to China. Nations that have little
to lose from an attack that includes conventional weapons or weapons ofmass
destruction may find ballistic missiles a way to stay in power.Nuclear weapons
also provide a relatively inexpensive way to maintain a military advantage over
foes. Demystifying the process of building nuclear weapons and their deliv-
ery systems has increased the fear that nuclear weapons will be used.Instead
of relying on conventional forces to win wars, states today can use ballistic
missiles to immediately attack cities,economic targets,or targets deep in an
enemy’s territory and create tremendous devastation.These new delivery sys-
tems have complicated national security policy and defense planning.
The leaders of nations that have a nuclear capability might contemplate
actions they never considered before.Ifboth sides in a confrontation have the
ability to release nuclear weapons,then one side might want to use those sys-
tems to disarm its opponent first. Because defenses against these types of
weapons are not widely available,a nation’s military capabilities,cities,capi-
tal,and infrastructure are inviting targets in an enemy’s gun sight,and if at-
Introduction ix
tacked,their destruction would be certain.Relatively fragile or unstable coun-
tries that possess these weapons are vulnerable to terrorist or revolutionary
attacks and may become susceptible to control by radical groups.Such groups
might not be influenced by international diplomacy or internal government
mechanisms to control the release of chemical or nuclear warheads.This sit-
uation could provide a radical group the instant capability to create massive
destruction against its neighbors or other nations.
Ballistic missiles today offer countries a way to equalize disparate military
capabilities that may have taken great time and expense to create comparable
conventional capabilities.Now,any country that possesses the willingness,re-
sources,and access to obtain these weapon systems can join a growing club
of nations that have deployed them.Some states might desire a single missile
armed with one nuclear device as an insurance policy against a foe. This
weapon might ensure that the country is not invaded or attacked.The rival’s
expensive conventional forces might become obsolete and its national lead-
ership might become hostage to a potential nuclear attack.The United States
faces problems with nations such as North Korea and Iran that may have such
capability. The United States and its regional allies could be blackmailed by
countries that have a limited number ofnuclear weapons.In the case ofIran,
for example, Washington or London might now be in danger along with
Jerusalem.
Ballistic missiles caused a profound change in the world during the post–
World War II era.In the cold war these delivery vehicles affected economic,
political,military,and social policies that have shaped today’s world and the
world we will inhabit in the future.Balances of power,defense spending,in-
tergovernmental relations,and a host of issues surrounded the advent of the
nuclear age.The nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet
Union dominated relations between them and with other countries around
the world.Some ofthe systems involved in the arms race resulted from a ded-
icated effort to build advanced weapons,others by unintended discoveries.In
many cases,these changes were caused by the growth of technology or ways
to counter new systems.Ballistic missiles were merely the result of scientific
and engineering efforts to understand and improve a way to deliver a weapon.
Small,incremental steps aided this development.These technological changes
created improved capabilities, some unforeseen, which spurred nuclear
weapons to prominence over other devices. Unexpected changes to a rival’s
military technology forced rapid changes in force structure and national pol-
icy.
Technological progress was also instrumental in changing the organiza-
tional structure of the military.The U.S.Air Force and the U.S.Navy experi-
enced modifications to their roles and missions after the introduction of
