American Technological Advancements and the Cold War
Many of the military technological advancements that have been made in the last 60 years can be attributed to the Cold War. Much of the technology developed during the period of the Cold War is still in use today by the military and government. Advancements in offensive technology are well known to just about everyone in the way of nuclear energy harnessed in the form of the nuclear bomb, but little is known about the battle for information during the Cold War. The Cold War produced some of the most advanced technology used in the fields of detection and reconnaissance in history. The United States’ detection and reconnaissance technology played a major role against communism during the Cold War, and these types of technology still play roles today.
A cold war is an ideological conflict with military standoffs while keeping diplomatic relations open. The Cold War consisted of two sides (or Superpowers); the first was the United States, who believed in and practiced capitalism, the opposing side was the Soviet Union, who believed in and practiced the idea of communism. Many historians dispute the start time of the conflict; however, it began some time after World War II and dragged on until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989. The Cold War Project Group Online claims “the advancement of technology during the Cold War was greater than that of any one time period” (“The Arms Race”). The war developed nuclear missiles and many other technological advancements taking the world into a new era, the Nuclear Era. It was estimated at one time the United States and the Soviet Union could nuke the world seven times over; the governments realized the pointlessness of so many nuclear missiles and turned their attention toward other ways to get an upper hand in the conflict. Tensions ran high during this time; without military confrontation, research and resources were redirected towards other fields of technology such as detection systems, surveillance equipment, and underwater technologies.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command, other wise known as NORAD, is a series of radar stations in North America that were built in 1950s. NORAD is a joint United States and Canadian organization that provides warnings and aerospace control for North America. The North American Aerospace Defense Comm...
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...ent, they have found usefulness in today’s world through reassessing their mission or in scientific research. The art of reconnaissance changed during the Cold War with the invention of the spy satellite, the U2 Spy Plane, and the nuclear powered submarines. Today much of the photo taken by the United States spy satellites and U2 Spy Planes are classified but they are still used today as a part of the military and the Center Intelligent Agency to identify threats just as they did during the Cold War; submarines The tracking down and monitoring Soviet submarines movements during the Cold War was one of the major missions of the nuclear submarines, unfortunately today the submarine force of the United States is slowly shrinking do to budget cut with in the military. Fear and uncertainty surrounded the Cold War, however thanks to these technological advancements during the Cold War it helped to keep offensive weapons form being fired and destroying the world. Unfortunately only a few of these technologies have found there way into the world today. The Cold War was a conflict that brought fear to Americans but also brought the United States new technology that is still around today.
The Cold War was a period of dark and melancholic times when the entire world lived in fear that the boiling pot may spill. The protectionist measures taken by Eisenhower kept the communists in check to suspend the progression of USSR’s radical ambitions and programs. From the suspenseful delirium from the Cold War, the United States often engaged in a dangerous policy of brinksmanship through the mid-1950s. Fortunately, these actions did not lead to a global nuclear disaster as both the US and USSR fully understood what the weapons of mass destruction were capable of.
A war does not necessarily require physical weapons to fight. From 1947 to 1991, military tension and ideological conflicts held place. Cold War is defined as a state of political hostility existing between countries, characterized by threats, violent propaganda, subversive activities, and other measures short of open warfare, in particular. The causes of the Cold War between United States and the Soviet Union were the mutual distrust that had taken place in World War II, intense rivalry between the two super powers, and conflicting ideologies. The two superpowers differed in views of political and economic principles and were eager to spread their ideologies to other countries. The United States were in favor of democracy and capitalism while the Soviet Union sought for the chances of influencing communism. Cold War did not involve the use of physical arms but was intensely fought. Propaganda, economic aids, Arms Race, and the creation of alliances were the main methods to fight the war. The use of propaganda played a crucial role in containment by criticizing the other power and raised the morale and spirit of their nation. The economic support for nations helped them recover from the desperate situation after World War II, which prevented the nations from falling under communism. Also, the Arms Race and forming alliances between the two main powers were important weapons for competition and rivalry in Cold War.
The Cold War in 1945 to 1953 brought about a period of tension and hostility due to the feud between the United States and the Soviet Union. The period began with the end of the Second World War. The situation acquired the title for there was no physical active war between the two rivals. The probability of the tension got to be the fear of the then rise in nuclear ammunition. Things began to roll when a US based U2 sky plane got to take photos of some USSR intermediate ballistic missiles with the capability of transporting nuclear heads.
To conclude, the cold war had an enormous effect on nearly every aspect of American life. With varying results, some were good and others were bad. I sense that the Cold war was helpful to us as a nation. Russian competition pushed the U.S. toward improvements in technology, military, science, and education. In a world with 2 superpowers the U.S. was driven to be better than the competitor. But now we are alone at the top and there is nowhere to go but down. Hopefully the termination of the U.S.S.R. didn’t open up a spot for a new and better world power to emerge in the near future.
The Cold War was the most important historic event in the 20th century after the Second World War, from 1945 till 1991 between two most powerful countries in that period – Soviet Union and USA. The Cold War invested a lot in world politics. What is the Cold War? This was a war for dominance in the world. In 1945 the USA was the only one country in the world that had the nuclear weapons. But in the 1949 USSR started to learn their nuclear weapons. In further developments forced the USSR was soon created by nuclear, and then thermonuclear weapons. (Isaacs J, 2008) Fight has become very dangerous for all.
Following the conclusion of the Second World War, the United States and the Soviet Union made it a priority to outdo each other in every possible facet from arsenals of missiles to international alliances and spheres of influences. Yet when the Soviets launched Sputnik on October 4th, 1957, the world changed forever. The first manmade object was fired into space, and it appeared that American technology and science had fallen behind. Yet, the public feared that not only were they now technologically inferior to the Soviets, but also deduced that if a satellite could be launched into space, a nuclear missile could just as likely reach the mainland United States. Less than a month later, the Soviets pushed the bounds of technology yet again by
...ccomplishments. As the years progress, just as they have in the past, so will military technology. Not more 80 years ago, the United States was just learning how to se machine guns. Not more than 60 years ago, the United States was just learning how to use tanks and artillery. Nowadays, the US military has become the leading war machine in all aspects of warfare including weapons, computer technology and biological as well as chemical warfare. God only knows what advancements are to come our way.
The war created a competition between the two countries. One one succeeded, the other needed to. Because of this, new technologies and discoveries were made, the first being space. The Cold War created the Space Race. While the USSR was first to reach space, the US was not far behind, ultimately placing the first man on the moon. The Cold War also led to the age of nuclear warfare. The US showed the world what technology it had created when it dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the USSR was not far behind. They developed their own atomic weapons, creating an arms race between the two countries. While the war was mainly between the US and USSR, it inspired other countries to start developing these weapons, or become allies with someone who had. Therefore, while Stalin was not alive for most of the Cold War, his previous actions and beliefs about communism helped cultivate this war. The tension he was partial responsible for creating with the US, led to both countries developing new technologies. He also led to the arms race, creating a new type of warfare throughout the entire world. This war helped change the path of the world. (Arms
U-2: Through the uses of a secret plane, U-2, flying above radar detection the United States was able to spy on the Soviet Union. This secret plane allowed the United States to take pictures and gather information. This was a great advantage for the United States, however, the Soviets detected the plane and shot it down. They, however, took the captain hostage and tried to force the Americans to admit they were spying. This did not work because America had a Soviet spy themselves so they made a trade. This was a slight advancement for America’s effort to contain communism because they were able to capture information and keep an eye on the Soviets
The Cold war was powered by many factors, but it can be made clear how hugely both military-industrial manufacturers and the secret services impacted the events and final outcome; actions made by the CIA and KGB became historical turning points, just as the rapid improvements and discoveries made in the field of technology has revolutionised the world today.
The Cold War is the long time war that was taken among the former USSR and the United States of America, and the war started immediately after the end of World War II. This war was essentially a clash, or a war, of two different ideologies; the Capitalism and the Communism. The Collapse of the former Soviet Union and its transition toward the free market economy proved that capitalism and its principles as the proper way of life.
Technology played a crucial role in determining the outcome of the World War II. Much of it developed during the interwar years to 1920s and 1930s. However, the developmental changes in technology occurred in early and late 1940s. The customization of technology took place in United States while the soldiers kept on fighting abroad. Weaponry, logistical support, communications, intelligence equipment, medicine and industrial changes were among them. In weaponry, some of the technological upgrades happened in ships, military vehicles, aircraft, artillery, rocketry, and small arms, biological, chemical and nuclea...
The Cold War began from the threats that the US and USSR felt from each other and a power struggle worldwide after WWII. The US felt the threat of communism spreading and the USSR felt the US was a threat of power. Nuclear weapons were used between the Soviet Union and the US as an arms race to show who was more powerful. The Soviet Union and the US never used those weapons for war but instead as a symbol for power. The Cold War had a major affect on today’s science, technology, and
The Cold War was a time between 1947 to 1991 in which tensions between two of the largest superpowers of the world were at an all time high: United State of America and the Soviet Union. The war never had a true battlefield between the two, but traces of each the superpowers could be found in many of the wars at the time directly or indirectly like: the Vietnam War, Korean War, and etc. Though the feud didn’t always happen on the battleground. The Soviet Union and United States faced off in expanding their power of their technology and economy at the time, which led to events like the Space Race, Nuclear Arms Race, and even globalization in the countries. Some of the new technologies like computers, space shuffles, and satellites were just some
Without doubt, all these advanced science and technology and modern weapons played critical role in the Cold War, and it was just because technology and weapons that kept the cold war from becoming a warm war, and prevent the outbreak of the Third World War. Both of these two countries were superpowers, they were almost equally matched, in terms of the technology they developed and weapons they possessed. They also knew that they were not completely sure to defeat the other side if they fought, and that is why the war was called “cold war”. Moreover, the leaders of the two countries knew very clearly that modern weapons including nuclear weapons were so destructive that they could not only destroy a country, but also the world. That would be a disaster for the whole human being. I think it was so lucky that, at that serious situation, the leaders from both countries remained a “cool” mind and did not launch the