TTS '97 - Potential Weather Modification Capabilities AF 2025
POTENTIAL WEATHER MODIFICATION CAPABILITIES AF 2025
DEGRADE ENEMY FORCES
Precipitation Enhancement
Flood Lines of Communication
Reduce PGM/Recce Effectiveness
Decrease Comfort Level/Morale
Storm Enhancement
Deny Operations
Precipitation Denial
Deny Fresh Water
Induce Drought
Space Weather
Disrupt Communications/Radar
Disable/Destroy Space Assets
Fog and Cloud Removal
Deny Concealment
Increase Vulnerability to PGM/Recce
Detect Hostile Weather Activities
ENHANCE FRIENDLY FORCES
Precipitation Avoidance
Maintain/Improve LOC
Maintain Visibility
Maintain Comfort Level/Morale
Storm Modification
Choose Battlespace Environment
Space Weather
Improve Communication Reliability
Intercept Enemy Transmissions
Revitalize Space Assets
Fog and Cloud Generation
Increase Concealment
Fog and Cloud Removal
Maintain Airfield Operations
Enhance PGM Effectiveness
Defend Against Enemy Capabilities
Notes:
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“From enhancing friendly operations or disrupting those of the enemy via small-scale tailoring of natural weather patterns to complete dominance of global communications and counterspace control, weather-modification offers the war fighter a wide-range of possible options to defeat or coerce an adversary. Some of the potential capabilities a weather-modification system could provide to a war-fighting commander in chief (CINC) are listed” above.
“Technology advancements in five major areas are necessary for an integrated weather-modification capability: (1) advanced nonlinear modeling techniques, (2) computational capability, (3) information gathering and transmission, (4) a global sensor array, and (5) weather intervention techniques. Some intervention tools exist today and others may be developed and refined in the future.”
The above table and quotes are from ‘Weather as a Force Multiplier: Owning the Weather in 2025,' Chapter 15, Volume 3, AF 2025
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SLIDE 3
TTS '97 - Treaty Issues
TREATY ISSUES
The U. N. Convention on the Prohibition of Military or any other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification, which went into effect 5 October 1978, applies only to “widespread, long-lasting or severe” environmental modifications.
Local, non-permanent changes, such as precipitation enhancement, hail suppression
Since 1978 the official Air Force position has been that weather modification had little utility or military payoff as a weapon of war.
The official Air Force position needs to be reevaluated:
In the light of 19 years of scientific advances
In the light of advanced weapon systems which are more environmentally sensitive
To prepare against technological surprise
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Notes:
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Air University's SPACECAST 2020 contains a section on Counterforce Weather Control for force enhancement which identifies the necessary prerequisites
“Atmospheric scientists have pursued terrestrial weather modification in earnest since the 1940s, but have made little progress because of scientific, legal, and social concerns, as well as certain controls at various government levels. Using environmental modification techniques to destroy, damage, or injure another state are prohibited. However, space presents us with a new arena, technology provides new opportunities, and our conception of future capabilities compels a reexamination of this sensitive and potentially risky topic.”
“The difficulty, cost, and risk of developing a weather control system for military applications are extremely high. However, the potential benefits for national security