United States Air Force Brainpower Analysis

Now that after America and the Soviet Union where both partaking in the space race they both had suspicions about each other. Eisenhower, on the other hand, saw satellites as “pointless unless they provided something useful back on Earth” (DeGroot 5). “ A spy satellite, on the other hand, could provide accurate pictures of Soviet military capabilities, thus enabling the United States to spend its defense budget wisely, without wasting huge sums on challenging phantom forces” (DeGroot 5). America was worried about the Soviets spying on America because of security issues so America wanted to pursue on building themselves a satellite to “provide accurate pictures of Soviet military capabilities” (DeGroot 5). The only problem was that “ Flying over another nation’s territory without permission was, however, illegal under international law. What was not clear was whether the law applied to satellites” (DeGroot 5). America and the Soviets were in a battle to see which world power could be the best. The

From a United States and Soviet Union perspective that conveys that the Space Race had a minor impact on the improvisation of United States defense technologies; the Space Race was in a way responsible for the United State’s production of new technology of missiles and defense against intercontinental ballistic missiles. In the late 1950s the United States Air Force started a series of advanced strategic missile projects under the Weapon System WS-199A called Martin's Bold Orion air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM). Similar to ICBMs the purpose of the ALBM was to destroy satellites sent into orbit that posed a intellectual and physical threat to the US. The ALBM was created due to the increasing pressure that the Soviets were to launch a satellite before the United States, and since the United States would not know of the capabilities of this

In addition to initiating a space race between the two current superpowers, the Sputnik spacecraft launch also had alarming military implications. The Sputnik satellites used intercontinental ballistic missiles that were initially used for their thrust capabilities but could theatrically be capable of flying from the Soviet Union to United States military targets in less than an hour—cutting the flight time to a fraction of a conventional bomber aircraft. In response to the launch of Sputnik, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958. The act created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) . To prevent the rise of Soviet dominance in military matters, Eisenhower also established the Advanced Research Projects Agency, a division of the U.S. Department of Defense. This was symbolic of a serious revelation of the standing of the scientific and technological capabilities of America in comparison to other countries, and also led to President Eisenhower issuing a proclamation to increase funding for education in America in science and engineering to combat this widening deficit. The quick Soviet lead in the newly emerging space race caused much panic, which shaped American foreign policy for the following decade(Document E). An example is avoiding “an all-out war with China” for fear of having to combat communism on two fronts.(Document

The Cold War was an all-encompassing face of the 20th century, world politics, and a major idea during this time was domination of the skies. The United States competed against The Soviet Union in a war unlike any other, they didn’t fight with guns, bombs, or war machines but with science and the battlefield was space. The prioritization of the space race on the national agenda was characterized by an urgency, which underscored the commitment to the U.S. to defeat the Soviet Union by all means necessary. This came at the cost of billions of dollars, resources, lives, and political forces.

Winston Churchill in his speech talks about how Europe had a dividing line between the Soviet - dominated eastern Europe and the American Dominated western Europe. Later on both superpowers (U.S and Soviet Union) had been developing their technology as well being able to use their nuclear power to being able to many weapons as possible. In document 7 there is an illustration if a graph demonstrating the U.S and the Soviet Union Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) and the Reentry Vehicle (RV) Development between the years of 1971-1987, where it shows how the Soviet Union had a higher range on both ICBM and RV Vehicle then the U.S. The arm raced had an impact on the world because they were able to get more weapons these makes them think they are able to have more dominance in the

During 1957, the Soviets launched the world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik-1. The U.S were concerned that the Soviets would attach a missile to the satellite and consequently gain the ability to fire down at the U.S with little to no notice. As fear rose in the U.S, the government seized the perfect opportunity to gain public support for NASA and the space program. The government used this as the ideal time to magnify the nation's fears of communism into the form of propaganda. As the U.S produced high quantities of propaganda, the Soviets responded with their own, highlighting their personal attitudes and ideologies.

The Space Race is a pivotal part of the Cold War’s history. During the ending of World War II, both the United States and the Soviet Union initiated a military, political, and technological supremacy battle. There was no physical fighting, instead both superpowers competed through space exploration. Between 1957-1969 the United States and the Soviet Union battled to overcome and take control over space which led to tensions alleviating in the 1970’s causing the pressure and necessity to decrease resulting in both superpowers collaborating in many tasks. Many of the technology that dealt with space exploration began with military affiliations. The

The Soviet Union’s staggering World War II death toll of over 20 million spurred them to strengthen their military after the war (Doc B). By 1980, the Soviet Union spent a much higher percentage of its GNP on the military than the United States did (Doc D). The USSR, even passed the USA in areas such as manpower and nuclear weapons capacity (Doc D). The Soviet technical prowess was also boosted when in 1957 they launched the first satellite into space (Doc F). The Soviet Union’s military strength should be emphasized because it allowed them to extend their influence into Eastern Europe (Doc A) and compete with the US as one of the world’s two

Bloodied, battered, tired, and wounded, American soldiers returned home from the long and arduous battles of World War II. Yet, they did so smiling because their nation had won. They returned to a nation unscathed by the war with a newly booming economy and leading technology. Following World War II, America had broken free from its decade of depression and launched itself into a position of world power. Being the only nation at the time with nuclear weaponry, the United States held considerable sway in the outcomes of the world, accepting a new role as the head of international politics. Prosperity, wealth, and advancements surged through the veins of the country at an exponential rate. Yet, without such a crucial turning point in United States

During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union each constructed a supply of nuclear weapons. Soviet policy rested on the principle that a nuclear war could be fought and won. The United States embraced nuclear deterrence, the reliable threat of reprisal to prevent enemy attack. To make its threat substantial, the United States during the 1950s established and positioned several types of delivery structures for attacking the Soviet Union with nuclear weapons. Each one of these systems came to be known as the Strategic Triad. One part of the triad was a long range manned bomber that would deliver the nuclear warhead. The second would be land based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM’s). The third part of this triad was nuclear

The movie Strategic Air Command is about an American World War II pilot Robert “Dutch” Holland, who gets recalled into the Air Force returning during the Cold War. During the movie, there is a consent theme of paranoia that can be seen throughout the film, reflecting the uncertainty that Americans had during the Cold War. As demonstrated in the film, the paranoia of a Soviet attack causes the United States to rapidly develop their air combat capabilities on the belief that staying combat ready is the best possible approach in preventing a war from occurring. During the beginning of the film, it gives a brief description of the Strategic Air Command (commonly referred to as SAC) and its responsibilities.

The intent of this brief analysis is to consider whether “command” as described by Italian General Giulio Douhet and British military historian and theorist Sir Julian Stafford Corbett can be applied to the space domain. The original air domain commanded by the Air Force has evolved to include space and cyberspace domains. Space domain includes, “…precise position, navigation and timing (PNT); communications; weather data; missile warning; and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR).”1 Clearly, within the space domain lies command of communications for all military domains (land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace). In fact, vulnerabilities in the space domain could weaken the American people by interrupting basic daily needs

1. This position paper will defend separating the air and space forces into different branches of the armed services. The first main point will discuss opinions for separating the forces. The second main point will cover valid arguments against the separation of forces. The third main point will further advocate for a separate space force.

The concept of airpower and its effectiveness against the enemy’s fielded military forces is well documented in a number of literatures. In the history of American military, airpower has been considered not only as the sharpest military sword but also a highly versatile set of tools used to effectively promote national strategy. Airpower’s effectiveness in support of national strategy has significantly improved since 1945. The study of airpower exposed certain consistencies which have affected its effectiveness. The theory and practice of airpower filled the past century with frequently persuasive victories coupled with a historical documentation packed with arguable failures. It is important to note that the effectiveness of airpower, as a military operational strategy, has triggered a debate among proponents and non-proponents. Some airpower theorists have debated its effectiveness. Throughout history, the many claims about airpower’s decisiveness to independently win wars or conflicts have hindered the notional and real application of this instrument of power. This essay highlights factors which consider the scope of the strengths and limitations of airpower that has been and will continue to be effective throughout the 21st century.

The Atlas program is an exceptional case study to highlight the interplay between strategic innovators, resistant bureaucratic organizations, large complex programs, strong personalities, civilian-military interaction, and an emergent technology that had the potential to shift the foundation of US strategy. At the genesis of the Atlas program, rocketry was not a novel technology—the Germans successfully launched V-2 rockets in WWII; however, using rockets to propel weaponized objects into space with a nuclear yield was new. The idea of developing US rocket capability originated in the era of the Army Air Forces (AAF), but the program did not realize significant success until the trinity of rational development, organizational integration, and critical actors operated in harmony with a corresponding crisis to propel the cause to a level of national importance.