U.S. Ballistic missile defense technology

In March 1983, President Reagan announced his intention to pursue a defense for the United States against ballistic missiles. In doing so, he questioned the traditional orthodoxy of nuclear deterrence, which holds that the vulnerability of both sides preserves the peace. Although the President recognized that such a defense probably could not be achieved before the end of the century, he felt it would be foolish to dismiss the technological possibility altogether, since it is impossible to predict all scientific breakthroughs. The President's speech raises questions about America's strategic nuclear policy, especially with regard to defensive systems. Will such systems prove destabilizing? Could they protect the United States against nuclear attacks? How soon could they be available? To answer these questions, it is first necessary to review the history of the American ballistic missile defense (BMD) program

Aeronautics · Ballistic missile · Computer security · Deterrence theory · Law and economics · Missile · Missile Defense · Nuclear strategy · Nuclear weapon · Orthodoxy · Political science · Sociology · Strategic Defense Initiative · Vulnerability (computing · Aerospace Engineering · Computer Science · Engineering · History · Laser-Plasma Interactions and Diagnostics · Law · Particle accelerators and beam dynamics · Particle Accelerators and Free-Electron Lasers

• An exchange on BMD technology

  Michael F Altfeld, Michael Altfeld et al.•Comparative Strategy•1985

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• Ballistic missile defense for Europe

  David S Sorenson•Comparative Strategy•1985

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• Effective Military Technology for the 1980s

  Richard L Garwin•International Security•1976

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