Power & Security, Technology Who Gets Smart: Explaining How Precision Bombs Proliferate

The precision strike complex represents a key element of military power for countries around the world. Nothing symbolizes the precision strike complex more than smart bombs—the guided aerial bombs that the United States first debuted in the Vietnam War. Yet, international relations scholars know little about these important weapons and what explains their proliferation. In this paper, we introduce new data on the proliferation of smart bombs from 1960-2017.

We then theorize about the key drivers of proliferation, including an interaction between the security environment, regime type, and the interest of states in precision for reasons having to do with following the law of war. The results show that both internal and external security threats make countries more likely to acquire smart bombs, and that this effect is magnified when countries are democratic or are more likely to ratify treaties related to the law of war. GDP per capita and supply-side factors also appear key to explaining smart bomb proliferation.

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