National Security Space Road Map

A set of interlinked program documents called the National Security Space Road Map used to be available to the public on the Web, but access now is restricted to the military and defense contractors. It has extensive information on military space programs, ranging from surveillance and communications satellites to technology development for new weapons systems operating through or from space. Western States Legal Foundation obtained the Space Road Map through the Freedom of Information Act. The information in the version received was collected by the compilers of the Roadmap during 1997 and 1998. This version is similar to the version available on the Federation of American Scientists web site, but contains additional interactive graphics which make it somewhat more understandable and easier to navigate.

National Security Space Road Map description and main page

National Security Space Road Map Index Page

Defense Science and Technology Plans, U.S. Department of Defense Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Science and Technology), February 2000

This set of documents includes the Defense Technology Area Plan (1999), the Joint Warfighting Science and Technology Plan (2000), and the Defense Technology Objectives for the Joint Warfighting Science and Technology Plan and Defense Technology Area Plan (2000). Versions of these three documents for earlier years were available to the general public, but now require a Freedom of Information Act request. This set of documents isdescribed by the DoD as presenting "the DoD S&T [Science and Technology] vision, strategy, plan, and objectives for the planners, programmers, and performers of defense S&T." Defense Technology Area Plan, p.xiii. These documents include extensive information on U.S. research and development plans for nuclear weapons effects testing aimed at making nuclear weapons more useable, ballistic missile defense development, and a variety of other research programs.

These documents are available here in pdf format. They are large files. The links below are to menus and tables of contents in pdf format, with links to the individual content files.

Main Menu.

Joint Warfighting Science and Technology Plan

Defense Technology Area Plan

Defense Technology Objectives for the Joint Warfighting
Science and Technology Plan and Defense Technology Area Plan

Defense Science and Technology Strategy

Basic Research Plan

Western States Legal Foundation press materials based on these documents:

U.S. PLANS FOR NEW, WAR-FIGHTING USES OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS REVEALED

This report recommends an ambitious program for rebuilding the nuclear weapons complex to maintain thousands of nuclear weapons for decades to come. It also recommends the development of a new production paradigm for nuclear weapons aimed at producing "reliable replacement warheads." This new approach would, if successful, allow certain kinds of nuclear weapons designs to be certified without underground testing, allowing the production of nuclear weapons that would fulfill the "missions" of the existing arsenal, while being adaptable for some additional capabilities as well.

Originally posted by Armscontrolwonk.com

This report, prepared by weapons designers and endorsed by the directors of the Los Alamos, Livermore, and Sandia National Laboratories, calls into question the labs' own multi-billion dollar "Stockpile Stewardship" program,. It proposes the construction of a new, leaner nuclear weapons complex capable of producing nuclear weapons with new capabilities, as well as new, more reliable designs to sustain existing capabilities for decades to come.

"The stockpile should be able to meet U.S. defense strategy goals and be able to address an uncertain future with uncertain adversaries. The U.S. nuclear stockpile of the future likely will have fewer weapons, both in the deployed and non-deployed forces. These weapons should be different in regard to safety, security, reliability, sustainability and, if necessary, in capability. An important consideration for planning the future stockpile must be affordability over the lifetime of the warheads. The warheads in the future stockpile should incorporate designs that minimize life-cycle costs and use cost as a key factor in determining the appropriate mix of warheads needed to maintain our deterrent and assure that the future stockpile can meet DoD needs." "Sustaining The Nuclear Enterprise – A New Approach," p.7

Draft Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations, Joint Publication 3-12, Final Coordination (2) 15 March 2005

This document, along with the comments from the various commands on the draft, were downloaded from the Joint Chiefs of Staff doctrine public web site. The site was shut down on April 7, 2005 and this and other doctrine documents are not available there, at least for the moment. Although this document still is in draft and hence can not be cited as official policy, it provides an indication of how top military officials are thinking about nuclear weapons use.

U.S. Department of Defense, Strategic Deterrence Joint Operating Concept, February 2004

A concept paper intended to help guide decisions about force development and weapons acquisition. This paper lays out a broad vision of "deterrence" encompassing preemptive warfare and an integrated spectrum of high-tech force, from conventional weapons with global reach to more "credible" nuclear options, intended to allow the U.S. to overpower adversaries anywhere on earth:

"Although advances in conventional kinetic and non-kinetic means (e.g., computer network attack (CNA), High Energy Radio Frequency (HERF), directed energy (DE), etc.) by 2015 will undoubtedly supplement U.S. nuclear capabilities to achieve these effects, nuclear weapons that are reliable, accurate, and flexible will retain a qualitative advantage in their ability to demonstrate U.S. resolve on the world stage. These capabilities should be further enhanced by improving our capability to integrate nuclear and non-nuclear strike operations. Providing the President an enhanced range of options for both limiting collateral damage and denying adversaries sanctuary from attack will increase the credibility of U.S. nuclear threats, thus enhancing deterrence and making the actual use of nuclear weapons less likely. Additionally, nuclear weapons allow the U.S. to rapidly accomplish the wholesale disruption of an adversary nation-state with limited U.S. national resources. While the legacy force was well suited for successful deterrence throughout the Cold War, an enhanced nuclear arsenal will remain a vital component of strategic deterrence in the foreseeable security environment" U.S. Department of Defense, Strategic Deterrence Joint Operating Concept, February 2004, p.29

Defense Science Board, Report of the Science Board Task Force on the Employment of the National Ignition Facility

This report notes the technical risks of the National Ignition Facility, a mammoth laser inertial confinement fusion machine under construction at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The report nonetheless backs continued funding for the effort, and urges closer integration of weapons research efforts with the facility's development and broader research program to assure that the facility will be used in a way which maximizes the production of nuclear weapons-relevant information.

Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Future Strategic Strike Forces, February 2004.

This report, by an advisory group consisting of a number of current and past nuclear and high-tech weapons laboratory officials and other military technology planners, recommends that the United States develop a wide array of strategic weapons, ranging from nuclear weapons and delivery systems with new capabilities to accurate, powerful conventional missiles with global reach.

A collection of documents relevant to the January 2002 Nuclear Posture Review can be found on our Nuclear Posture Review resource page

Pentagon plans conference on how to develop, build new kinds of nuclear weapons for "small strikes" -- and how to sell these ideas to Congress and the American people

Conference Planning Meeting Minutes made public by the Los Alamos Study Group, Santa Fe, New Mexico

For the full document, click here

Excerpt and Related Documents from Other Sources

Statement of Work, AF Nuclear Weapons and Counterproliferation Agency (NWCA) Support

"Applicable weapon systems include existing and modified nuclear weapons as well as conventional and advanced counterforce weapons for striking CBRN targets. Additionally, the contractor shall support NWCA programs to include: decontamination technologies, directed energy weapons, non-lethal weapons, special operations, and space weapons and warfare."

Nuclear Weapons and Counterproliferation Agency Mission Scenarios (attachment to scope of work)

"1.1. Assignment 3: Complete two follow-on studies 1.1.1. An analysis of long-term collateral effects from residual leaked chemical agents. 1.1.2. A detailed method for evaluating effectiveness and collateral effects of a penetrating nuclear weapon against a hard storage bunker containing wet biological agent in multiple barrels."

"Mission Scenario Two for AF NWCA Analysis of Alternatives, Earth Penetrating Nuclear Weapon

1. Scope
Objective. The AF NWCA requires an independent Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) directed at the modification of an existing nuclear weapon to penetrate and destroy Hard and Deeply Buried Targets (HDBTs) not currently held at risk with existing conventional or nuclear weapons. Develop a work break down structure, define the critical path, and present a cost proposal for the AoA. Additionally, identify the key parameters, outputs, anything the government would be required to provide, and justification for each."

Differentiation and Defense: An Agenda for the Nuclear Weapons Program by the House Policy Committee (pdf download)

This paper advocates pre-emptive strikes against those suspected of having WMD and the intention to use them, advocates research on advance nuclear weapons concepts, including earth penetrators and low yield nuclear weapons, and acknowledges that missile defenses are seen not as a replacement for nuclear weapons, but as a way to "complement and enhance" the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

The House Policy Committee "is a Republican congressional body whose purpose is to provide a forum for discussion of specific legislative initiatives, for the enunciation of Republican priorities on issues, and for the resolution of inter-jurisdictional policy disputes within the Conference."

The National Security Strategy of the United States of America

National Strategy to Combat Weapons of Mass Destruction

These two documents, taken together, announce the Bush Administration policy of preventive war against countries or groups possessing weapons of mass destruction, and a broad role for nuclear weapons as a response to a variety of threats beyond deterring nuclear attack.

A set of interesting studies commissioned by the Advanced Systems and Concepts Office of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. These studies provide insight into the debates within the military establishment on the role of nuclear weapons and missile defenses in sustaining the capability of the U.S. to project force throughout the world.

Minimum Nuclear Deterrence Phase 2, May 2003, pdf download The New US Strategic Framework and Capabilities-based Planning: Application to Strategic Force Planning, August 2003 pdf download Twenty-First Century Threat Reduction: Nuclear Study Results From DTRA/ASCO, November 2001 pdf download Strategic Personality and the Effectiveness of Nuclear Deterrence: Deterring Iraq and Iran, September 2001 pdf download

East Asia's Nuclear Future: A Long-Term View of Threat Reduction, August 2001 pdf download The Future Integrity of the Global Nuclear Non-Proliferation Regime, April 2001 pdf download Asymmetric Conflict 2010, November 2000 pdf download US Coercion in a World of Proliferating and Varied WMD Capabilities: Final Report for the Project on Deterrence and Cooperation in a Multi-Tiered Nuclear World, Febreuary, 2001 msword download Strategic Personality and the Effectiveness of Nuclear Deterrence: Deterring Iraq and Iran, November 2000 pdf download

Two influential nuclear weapons laboratory officials views on the future of nuclear weapons, including the role of low-yield nuclear weapons, the use of nuclear weapons for purposes other than deterring nuclear attack, and the modification of existing U.S. nuclear weapons to provide additional military capabilities.

Nuclear Weapons in the Twenty-First Century, Stephen M. Younger, Associate Laboratory Director for Nuclear Weapons, Los Alamos National Laboratory, June 2000 pdf download

A White Paper: Pursuing a New Nuclear Weapons Policy for the 21st Century, C. Paul Robinson, President and Director, Sandia National Laboratories, March 2001

Beware the Nuclear Warrior
A response to Paul Robinson's White Paper by Greg Mello of the Los Alamos Study Group, first published in the Albuquerque Tribune on April 12, 2001.

High-Energy-Density Physics Study Report: A Comprehensive Study of the Role of High-Energy-Density Physics in the Stockpile Stewardship Program, National Nuclear Security Administration, U.S. Department of Energy, April 6, 2001 pdf download

This report provides a detailed overview of U.S. Department of Energy High Energy-Density Physics programs and their role in nuclear weapons research. The study recommends continuation of all major programs, including the controversial National Ignition Facility (NIF) , a multi-billion dollar laser inertial confinement fusion machine under construction at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. It includes items of interest ranging from the local to the global, including recommendations that special nuclear materials be used in experiments at the NIF and information on cooperation between the French and British nuclear weapons programs and the U.S. nuclear laboratories (for the latter, see particularly Appendices F and G.

Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Nuclear Deterrence, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology, October 1998. pdf download

Particularly interesting for discussion of future nuclear weapons component production, and the relationship between U.S. nuclear weapons production infrastructure and the future of arms control.

Bierbaum, et al, DOE Nuclear Weapon Reliability Definition: History, Description, and Implementation, Sandia National Laboratory, April 1999 pdf download

An overview of the meaning of nuclear weapons "reliability," including a discussion of the relationship between the components designed, produced and maintained by the Department of Energy and those for which the Department of Defense is responsible.

U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Nuclear Weapons Operations Doctrine

Draft Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations, Joint Publication 3-12, Final Coordination (2) 15 March 2005

This document, along with the comments from the various commands on the draft, were downloaded from the Joint Chiefs of Staff doctrine public web site. The site was shut down on April 7, 2005 after the contents of this and other doctrine documents provoked critical commentary. Although this document still is in draft and hence can not be cited as official policy, it provides an indication of how top military officials are thinking about nuclear weapons use.

Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations (pdf file)

If the above link doesn't work, click here to download from the WSLF site

Doctrine for Joint Theater Nuclear Operations (pdf file)

If the above link doesn't work, click here to download from the WSLF site

Air Force Nuclear Operations Doctrine

“Nuclear Operations” Air Force Doctrine Document 2-1.5 15 July 1998 (pdf file)

If the above link doesn't work, click here to download from the WSLF site

Space and Missile Defense

Other recent documents relevant to U.S. military space programs can be found on our Government Military Space Documents page.

Air Force Space Command, Strategic Master Plan FY04 and Beyond November 2002

Air Force Space Command, Strategic Master Plan for FY02 and Beyond

These plans are more recent and less well known than the U.S. Space Command Long Range Plan. Described as Air Force Space Command's "capstone planning document," the Strategic Master Plan sets out in detail the Air Force wish list for military systems operating in, from, and through space. The FY02 and Beyond document, no longer available for the original source, has been archived on this site. It provides more detail on many programs than the FY04 and Beyond plan.

Report of the Commission to Assess United States National Security, Space Management and Organization

This influential report, written by a panel which included current Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, supports the U.S. Space Command vision for the increased militarization of space.

Department of Defense, Space Technology Guide, FY2000-2001

This document provides and overview of current efforts across the government from the Department of Defense to NASA and the Department of Energy to develop technologies which will be useful for military space programs. This document is especially useful for tracking the overlaps between different types of weapons programs and concommitant areas of basic and applied research. The appendices provide charts and summaries of activities by agency.