spencert@turing.cs.rpi.edu (Thomas Spencer) (02/12/90)
From: spencert@turing.cs.rpi.edu (Thomas Spencer) Imagine that the USA and the USSR have decided the attempt to negotitate a treaty that limits the size of their Navies. One thing that the US might insist on is that the USSR agree to limit the number of land based planes that are "useful against navel targets in the Mid-Atlantic". My question is how should the phrase "useful against navel targets in the Mid-Atlantic" be defined? Is it even definable ? One obvious criterion to use is (unrefueled) range. Do the Soviets have warplanes with sufficient unrefueled range to get to the Mid-Atlantic and back that are not considered either strategic nuclear bombers or anti-ship planes? What about newly developed planes? If the treaty limits planes with a range of greater than X miles, is this provision verifiable ? What about civil avaition? How difficult would it be to modify airliners to carry antiship air-sea missiles ? Would they be at all effective ? About how many airliners with intercontentinal range does Aeroflot have ? Your comments are welcome. -Tom Spencer spencert@turing.cs.rpi.edu uunet!steinmetz!itsgw!spencert "First figure out what you are trying to do." -Me.