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Ballistic Missiles

Ballistic missiles are short-, medium-, and long-range rocket-propelled vehicles that deliver nuclear or conventional weapons. RAND's analyses help policymakers understand the potential uses of ballistic missiles for warfare and terrorism, the likelihood of their use by combatants, possible defense strategies, and emerging threats to the global security environment.

Report

Employing Land-Based Anti-Ship Missiles in the Western Pacific

This report illustrates the potential strategic advantages for the United States of a land-based anti-ship missile capability that could be deployed to the Western Pacific in the event of a conflict with China.

Nov 1, 2013
Report

Crisis Stability and Long-Range Strike: A Comparative Analysis of Fighters, Bombers, and Missiles

In an international crisis, the United States must balance its threats with restraint while limiting its vulnerability. A RAND study sought to identify which long-range strike assets offer capabilities most conducive to stabilizing such crises.

Jun 19, 2013
Blog

Korea Tensions Different from Previous 'Normal Crises,' RAND Experts Tell Media

Three RAND Corporation researchers discussed the regional and global implications of the recent flurry of bluster and provocation emanating from North Korea, during a conference call April 9 with reporters.

Apr 9, 2013
Commentary

North Korean 'Satellite' May Fall from Sky, but That Won't Deter Kim Jong-Un

Kim Jong-Un's regime has placed outsized import on its missile launches—despite the risk of alienating the international community—to offset the lack of success across a wide range of topics, writes Bruce Bennett.

Dec 21, 2012
Commentary

North Korea's Just Getting Started

While many observers of North Korea have been surprised by the apparently peaceful ascension of Kim Jong-Un, there are reasons to believe that the situation in the North is not so stable, writes Bruce Bennett.

Dec 12, 2012
Commentary

Turkey Edges Toward Seeking NATO Support in Syria Crisis

As the crisis along the border between Syria and Turkey intensifies, Turkey appears on the brink of a formal request to the North Atlantic Council that NATO deploy Patriot missiles to help defend the border, writes Christopher Chivvis.

Nov 21, 2012
Report

Expendable Missiles vs. Reusable Platform Costs and Historical Data

This report presents an analysis of historical use of air-to-ground attacks to assess the economic wisdom of relying primarily on expendable weapons, such as cruise missiles.

Oct 3, 2012
News Release

RAND Stanton Research Fellows Issue New Studies Examining Nuclear Security Issues

Three Stanton Nuclear Security Fellows at the RAND Corporation—Robert Reardon, Markus Schiller, and David Kearn—have published new research examining nuclear security issues.

Oct 2, 2012
Report

Facing the Missile Challenge: U.S. Strategy and the Future of the INF Treaty

Report assesses whether the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty continues to serve America's national interests, or whether adherence unduly constrains the U.S. ability to effectively respond to emerging security threats.

Sep 27, 2012
Report

Characterizing the North Korean Nuclear Missile Threat

Questions the current common view of the North Korean missile program and seeks to better characterize the North Korean missile threat by comparing the available data on the North Korea missile program against several possible hypotheses.

Sep 27, 2012
News Release

Book by Noted Expert Proposes a Renaissance of Thought on Nuclear Deterrence for Today's Strategic Environment

A new book by the late French scholar Thérèse Delpech provides a critical review and update of nuclear deterrence theory, focusing a critical eye on nuclear issues during the Cold War, examining the lessons of past nuclear crises, and outlining ways in which these lessons apply to major nuclear powers and nuclear pretenders today.

Apr 17, 2012
Report

Book by Noted Expert Proposes a Renaissance of Thought on Nuclear Deterrence for Today's Strategic Environment

A new book by the late French scholar Thérèse Delpech provides a critical review and update of nuclear deterrence theory, focusing a critical eye on nuclear issues during the Cold War, examining the lessons of past nuclear crises, and outlining ways in which these lessons apply to major nuclear powers and nuclear pretenders today.

Mar 27, 2012
Commentary

Getting Value from the U.S.-ROK Summit

For months, N. Korea has been trying to upstage the summit between S. Korean President Lee and U.S. President Obama that is scheduled for June 16. Almost all Americans I know have heard of the recent N. Korean provocations. But few have heard anything about the U.S.-ROK summit, writes Bruce Bennett.

Jun 15, 2009
Commentary

No Surprise in Failure to Deter North Korea

North Korea's latest misbehavior highlights an uncomfortable truth: the failure of the United States and the international community to deter its actions. In this case, it is pretty easy to see why North Korea has not been deterred, writes Bruce Bennett.

Jun 2, 2009
Commentary

N.K. Provocation Suggests Regime in Trouble

North Korea spent weeks preparing to launch a ballistic missile that could reach the United States. It argued that the launch was intended to put a satellite into orbit. But a space launch vehicle is a ballistic missile used for a modestly different purpose, writes Bruce W. Bennett.

Apr 9, 2009
Commercial Book

Strategy in the Missile Age

Classic work from 1959 that discusses the origins of air power, its cornerstone position in the evolution of Cold War era nuclear strategy, and its treatment of preventive and preemptive attacks, deterrence, and the economics of strategy.

Oct 8, 2007
Commentary

U.S., European Strategy Must Adjust to Confront Military Power in China

Ever since China test-fired ballistic missiles… in 1995 and 1996, many analysts have sounded the alarm about the threat of China's military power. This has been a false alarm until now, but within a decade China could supplant America as the dominant military power in East Asia, writes Roger Cliff.

Jul 29, 2007
Commentary

Missile Defense: Avoiding a Crisis in Europe

Published commentary by RAND staff: Missile Defense: Avoiding a Crisis in Europe, in International Herald Tribune.

Mar 29, 2007
Commentary

Nothing's Free in Dealing with Putin

Published commentary by RAND staff.

Aug 1, 2001
Commentary

There's a Better Way to Missile Defense

Published commentary by RAND staff.

May 3, 2001

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RAND Topic:
Ballistic Missiles

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