passive defense
English edit
Noun edit
passive defense (countable and uncountable, plural passive defenses)
- (military) Forms of defense that offer protection without counterattacking.
- Coordinate term: active defense
- 1986, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Armed Services, Department of Defense authorization for appropriations for fiscal year 1987, page 317:
- The construction of concrete revetments and hardened facilities, and the provision of chemical warfare defense equipment and clothing, all contribute to our passive defense capabilities.
- 1985, Ballistic Missile Defense Technologies, page 112:
- In this view, Soviet defensive measures—including civil defense and similar passive defenses—would effectively protect their leadership and its communication system, as well as reduce civilian casualties and protect important war-related industrial capacity.