Definability of Defensive and Offensive Weapon Systems

Determine whether defensive and offensive weapon systems can be defined distinctly despite the fact that the manner in which military forces will use them is not fully foreseeable by their designers.

Background

The paper notes that defense systems are intended to defend against external threats, but the classification of weapon systems as defensive or offensive depends partly on how military forces ultimately use them. Because designers cannot fully foresee future operational use, the conceptual boundary between defensive and offensive systems remains contested.

References

We acknowledge that there is an open debate about the definability of defensive (or offensive, respectively) weapon systems because the manner in which military forces will use them is not fully foreseeable by their designers.

— Managing Inherent Risk: On the Conceptualization of Risk in Defense Systems  (2608.28093 - Braun et al., 28 Aug 2026) in Section II.B, Background