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The Impact of New Technologies on Soviet Military Thought

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Radical Reform in Soviet Defence Policy

Abstract

While the Soviet military establishment has undergone substantial changes under President Mikhail Gorbachev, mainstream views on future war reflect the same fixation on emerging military technologies that Marshal N. V. Ogarkov initiated in the late 1970s. For over a decade, Soviet military writings have characterised the impact of these new, non-nuclear technologies as a ‘revolution’ in military affairs. Despite a noticeable degree of civil-military divergence regarding the future of Soviet military power, the civilian leadership has not sought to impede the development of those technologies perceived to be at the heart of future Soviet military capabilities: advanced conventional munitions, directed-energy weapons, and space-based systems. This paper will examine the impact of emerging technologies on Soviet military thinking about future war.

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Notes

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Authors
  1. Mary C. FitzGerald
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Russian and East European Studies, University of Birmingham, UK

    Roy Allison (Lecturer in Soviet Defence Policy and International Security) (Lecturer in Soviet Defence Policy and International Security)

Copyright information

© 1992 International Council for Soviet and East European Studies and Roy Allison

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FitzGerald, M.C. (1992). The Impact of New Technologies on Soviet Military Thought. In: Allison, R. (eds) Radical Reform in Soviet Defence Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-21722-9_5

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