Ethics, Scientists, Engineers and the Military - Ethical Engineering for International Development and Environmental Sustainability - page 326

and a given military technology may have more than one of these functions. Weapons
are designed to kill or injure people or animals and damage or destroy structures and
systems. They include nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, cyber weapons
and small arms. Transportation and propulsion systems are intended to transport
armed forces and/or weapons to their destinations or targets. They can be divided into
land, sea and airbased systems, though some systems are deployed in more than one
medium. Sensors and communication systems can be used to communicate between
armed forces and/or to obtain information about 'enemy' positions and activities,
to coordinate armed forces and weapons deployment and to guide weaponry.
Fortifi cations are military constructions used largely for defence. Only the fi rst two
categories will be discussed further in this chapter. Weapons will be discussed fi rst.

4.1 Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Weapons

Nuclear, chemical and biological weapons are sometimes referred to as weapons of
mass destruction. For instance, Trident replacement is still aimed at 'fl attening
Moscow at the press of a button'. Research by the Scottish Campaign for Nuclear
Disarmament (Ainslee 2013 ) indicates what 'fl attening Moscow' would mean.
An attack on Moscow by the 40 nuclear warheads normally carried by a Trident
submarine would lead to 5.4 million deaths, with 95% casualties within 1.6 km of
each explosion. Nearly 800,000 of the deaths would be children and young people
under 18. There would be extensive fi res within 3 km of each explosion, and most
of the city and much of the Moscow region would have very high levels of radioac-
tive contamination, leading to deaths and serious illness. Several of Moscow's larg-
est hospitals would be completely destroyed and others severely damaged, and the
casualties would include large numbers of doctors and nurses. It would be very
diffi cult to bring any medical or other aid and assistance to the city due to the very
high levels of radioactivity, leading to further deaths and increased suffering from
lack of treatment. Schools across the city would also be fl attened. It is likely that all
normal life in the city would come to an end and that the traumatised survivors
would not be in a position to provide any assistance to those in greatest need or start
rebuilding, particularly without assistance from outside. The destruction of both
public and private transport and deaths of transport personnel would also make it
diffi cult to leave the city subsequent to such an attack, leading to further deaths. Deaths
and injuries would be reduced if there was some warning, and residents were able
to fl ee or take shelter in underground bunkers and the subway. However, in the event
of a fi restorm, many of those taking shelter would be killed by carbon dioxide poi-
soning. They would also have to emerge while radioactivity levels were still very
high. This example illustrates the horrendous potential of nuclear weapons. It should
also be noted that the nuclear warheads carried by a Trident submarine are only a
small component of the world's nuclear arsenal.
Despite the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty, stockpiles of nuclear weapons still
remain, only limited progress has been made towards disarmament and the nuclear