The further advanced a weapon system becomes, the more difficult is its suppression. Once a programme has been funded, jobs and careers become linked to it.
Bureaucratic inertia takes over.
In a paper, 'The Road from Armageddon', Lewis describes a number of horrifying possible future weapons, about which military speculation has already begun. Lewis urges the need for groups such as Scientists Against Nuclear Arms to broaden their perspective so as to help ward off the grave threat posed by new weapon systems. Then, as soon as research developed to a point where scientists became aware of possible weaponry applications, draft international agreements and conventions could be prepared to help restrain future military development. A swift response of the kind advocated by Peter Lewis may help to ward off the menace posed by a new laser weapon system. The lasers, an advance on targeting and range-finding lasers, blind any enemy troops using optical aiming devices, telescopes and binoculars at a range of up to four miles.