ABSTRACT
This chapter stresses that in an assessment of national security the military element of the overall security of a state is usually the most important criterion. Strategic stability, or the stability of nuclear deterrence, is obviously a quite specific form of ‘stability’ or ‘balance’. The arsenals on both sides of the balance are composed of a great variety of different weapon-systems, varying in numbers and of different qualities. The accuracy and reliability of weapons are among those factors which fundamentally influence the military qualities of strategic arsenals, but which are completely hidden from the opponents. The role of changes in the invulnerability of strategic weapon-systems on the balance of strategic deterrence has been well demonstrated in Afheldt and Sonntag’s study, where survivability is provided by the sea-based missiles, ABMs or mobile systems. The impact of invulnerability depends, however, on the way in which the survivability of a given arsenal was built up vis-a-vis that of the enemy.
