ABSTRACT
For the military programs and the capabilities of both East and West, 1984 was a year of continuity with one or two exceptions. There was little progress in arms control during the year. After the US elections, however, there were indications of increased willingness in Moscow and Washington to search for new routes around self-imposed obstacles to negotiation. In the early 1980s the Soviet Union reorganized its air forces, apparently in an effort to improve prospects of countering the US cruise missile threat and to give theater commanders greater control of air power. French, British and Chinese systems are usually classed with theater nuclear forces, but as those forces modernize that distinction is increasingly difficult to justify on the basis of capabilities. French sea-based missile forces are in the midst of a similar growth in capability. On-station warheads are expected to increase from the current 48 aboard three boats to between 288 and 384 aboard 3 to 4 boats.
