Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line
The Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line was a crucial defense initiative developed during the Cold War, aimed at providing early detection of potential nuclear attacks against the United States. Approved by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in the mid-1950s, the DEW Line consisted of a series of long-range radar installations strategically placed across Canada, extending from Alaska to Greenland. This network created a "virtual electronic fence" that enabled the U.S. military to receive critical intelligence about incoming threats, allowing for an estimated thirty-minute warning before a potential attack.
During its operation, the DEW Line was seen as a significant enhancement to national security, designed to give U.S. forces the necessary time to organize a counteroffensive. Despite its intended purpose, analysts of the time noted that a substantial portion of an enemy's nuclear arsenal could still penetrate this defense system. In the modern era, while advancements in military technology have introduced more sophisticated means of detection and defense, the foundational concepts of the DEW Line continue to influence contemporary military strategies. The DEW Line remains an important historical example of Cold War-era defense initiatives and their lasting impact on military planning.
Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line
Identification Ground-based radar installations designed to detect the approach of enemy bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) aimed at the United States from launch sites in the Soviet Union
Date Initiated in 1954; completed in 1957
The establishment of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line symbolized the realization that, in the nuclear Cold War age, America could ill afford a surprise attack of the type launched against Pearl Harbor in 1941.
In a report submitted to President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1955, a panel of experts under the direction of presidential science adviser James R. Killian concluded that two hundred nuclear bombs, delivered in a surprise attack, would render the United States defeated, unable to mount a counterattack. To safeguard against such an event, Eisenhower approved the construction of long-range radar installations, sited at overlapping intervals within Canada, to create a virtual electronic “fence” from Alaska to Greenland. Data from this system were relayed to Strategic Air Command (SAC) headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska, providing an estimated thirty-minute warning of any attack.
Impact
During the Cold War years, the DEW Line was thought to offer a defensive advantage by providing sufficient time for U.S. military forces to mount a counteroffensive against enemy attack. Even with these coordinated defenses in place, however, analysts estimated that as much as 50 percent of the enemy’s nuclear attack force could most likely reach their targets. In the twenty-first century, even with the advent of more powerful hydrogen bombs, ballistic missile submarines, and sophisticated surveillance satellites, elements of the ground-based DEW Line concept still remain in use.
Bibliography
Keeny, L. Douglas. The Doomsday Scenario. St. Paul, Minn.: MBI Publishing Company, 2002. A declassified government document outlining the events and outcomes of a nuclear war.
Newhouse, John. War and Peace in the Nuclear Age. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1988. A comprehensive history of the nuclear age from the Manhattan Project to the Strategic Defense Initiative.