Defense Technology International - June 2008 - (Page 64)

REVIEW BOOK REVIEWED BY SEAN MEADE A NUCLEAR FAMILY VACATION: Travels in the World of Atomic Weaponry BY NATHAN HODGE AND SHARON WEINBERGER Bloomsbury USA, 2008 240 pp., $24.99 Now that the Cold War is over and much that was secret is declassiﬁed, it’s possible to visit many prominent sites. That’s what husband-and-wife defense reporters Sharon Weinberger (former DTI editor-in-chief) and Nathan Hodge did. As they note, there are no Cold War battleﬁelds to tour. While most of their tourism is historical, the authors maintain a view of the nuclear-industrial complex. Hodge and Weinberger have chapters on the Nevada Test Site, Los Alamos, Livermore, Sandia, Oak Ridge, Stratcom, missile silos, secret bunkers (including Cheyenne Mountain), Huntsville, the Marshall Islands, Russia, Kazakhstan and Iran. The first thing we learn is that all these labs and test sites, military bases and commands—once instrumental in nuclear preparedness—struggle today with how they should continue (shutting down is not usually considered). Key questions are: If no new weapons are being produced, what do we do and how do we stay funded? Interesting issues emerge from the Stratcom chapter. In an age where great-power war is a distant possibility, what are we deterring with nukes? The overarching strategy of military planners now is global strike, including conventional weapons. In fact, the advent of precision conventional weapons obviates the old, and questionable, role of tactical nuclear weapons. The authors bring a reporter’s skepticism to their project, so there’s a healthy dose of “How much of this stuff do we really need?” Cold War deterrence worked, and almost every weapon system explored was never used. But what is deterrence now? Given limited budgets, how much should nations spend on nuclear weapons? What are the likely threats compared with the needs, for example, of Iraq and Afghanistan? The global nuclear weapons complex continues to be an expensive and dangerous hedge against an unlikely scenario. Nuclear tourism is an effective and interesting way of canvassing issues we face today. Reading A Nuclear Family Vacation is a good way to learn more about the history of nuclear weapons and become conversant with our current situation. Hodge and Weinberger have done the legwork to back up their common-sense conclusions. � ADVERTISERS IN THIS ISSUE UPCOMING: IN PRINT - JULY/AUGUST ISSUE Missile Defense, JSF, Targeting & Reconnaissance Pods and the new Major Programs Update Feature EVENT Farnborough, July 14-20 SMDC, August 11-14 ONLINE Exclusive Videos! The Lockheed JLTV, Hunter UAV and more! Click on the video button on the AviationWeek.com homepage. Turn to the ARES blog for daily defense updates: www.aviationweek.com/ares Check out the Ezine archive on the DTI homepage. www.aviationweek.com/dti 64      AAI Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 AM General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3rd Cover AUSA7 AVIATION WEEK AviationWeek.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 AVIATION WEEK Conferences & Exhibitions A&D Program Excellence Seminar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 A&D Programs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Program Risks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 Top Performing Companies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 BSDA, Black Sea Defense & Aerospace Exhibition & Conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Ceradyne Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 DTI, Defense Technology International . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Elbit Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 EUROSATORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 FLIR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Force Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 General Atomics Aeronautical Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 GNIUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 IAI, Israel Aerospace Industries, Ltd. (MLM Division) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 L-3 Advanced Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Meggitt Defense Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 MSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Navistar Defense. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Nexter Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Oto Melara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Plasan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 RAFAEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Raytheon Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4th Cover Sagem Défense Sécurité . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Sekai Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Shaping the Future Brieﬁng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 TAG, Technology Advancement Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 WL Gore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2nd Cover INTERNATIONAL REGIONAL EDITION: (Between pages 18 & 19): Thales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18AI MBDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18BI (Between pages 50 & 51): Selex Sistemi Integrati S.p.a. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50AI DTI, Defense Technology International . . . . . . . . . 50BI  http://www.aviationweek.com/dti http://AviationWeek.com http://AviationWeek.com http://www.aviationweek.com/ares http://www.aviationweek.com/dti http://www.aviationweek.com/dti

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Defense Technology International - June 2008

Defense Technology International - June 2008 Contents Around the World Science Watch Tech Watch Basic Black Self-Defense Fire-Resistant Perfezione Hyperspeed Trial Big Sky Cashing In Digital Links Hang Ten Sea Change Programs Update Two Steps Back Direct Hit Staying Power Potent Stinger Do No Harm Guard Duty The Net Cutting Edge First Person In Review Insight

Defense Technology International - June 2008

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