Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD)

Missile Defense Test Conducted by U.S. Navy and Missile Defense Agency, November 2005
Source: www.defense.gov

Background. Historically, the deployment of missile defenses has been limited because of political, economic, and technological constraints. Russia and other countries with nuclear infrastructures have voiced the concern that missile defense systems could upset the strategic nuclear balance. The reason for this concern is that all three powers, the United States, Russia, and China (as well as France and Britain), possess nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). In the absence of missile defenses, these missiles are capable of striking distant territories on short notice. 

During the Cold War, this "balance of terror" was thought by many to provide stability and security in the form of deterrence. Nuclear deterrence, in this sense, allowed the United States and the Soviet Union to feel confident that they would not be attacked because each state had the ability to retaliate and cause unacceptable damage to the attacker. If the country that attacked had missile defenses, however, it could have the ability to strike first and then block a retaliatory strike. A state in possession of effective missile defenses, conceivably, could intimidate other nuclear countries because of this first-strike advantage. Therefore, many believe that missile defenses undermine deterrence and create strategic instability. 

Current Status. Ballistic missile defense (BMD) remains one of the most controversial issues in world politics and U.S. defense policy. In December 2002, six months after the United States formally withdrew from the 1972 ABM Treaty, the Bush administration announced that the United States would deploy a limited missile defense system in Ft. Greely, Alaska, by the end of 2004. Subsequently, a small site at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California was added. Also during the Bush administration, the United States proposed an expansion of its missile defense system into multiple sites in Eastern Europe. The controversial proposal was accepted by Poland and the Czech Republic; however, the Obama administration announced in September 2009 that the proposed system would no longer be pursued. Instead, U.S. officials decided that the focus of the BMD system will be short- and medium-range missile threats from Iran, as opposed to defenses previously targeted at long-range missiles. This decision was based on "accumulating evidence" of increased progress by Iran in developing short- and medium-range missiles that could target Israel and Europe.

According to news reports, the four-phase plan consists of the following: deployment of "existing SM-3 interceptors using the sea-based Aegis system in 2011, then [deployment of] an improved version in 2015 both on ships and on land." In place of the 10 larger interceptors included in the previous plan for Poland, there would be 40 to 50 smaller missiles deployed by sea and on land. The next phase would involve a "more advanced version" in 2018 and another in 2020, which would have an intercontinental missile defense capability.

Additionally, in February 2010, the United States announced that Romania will host U.S. interceptors and Poland will host another BMD site in 2018. Reports have also indicated that Turkey and Bulgaria may become future BMD sites for the United States.

The negotiation of the START I follow-on treaty between Russia and the United States brought the issue of missile defense to the foreground. The Russian administration consistently tried to connect U.S. missile defense plans to the text of the new treaty. A report released by the U.S. Department of Defense in February 2010, however, indicated the United States was adamantly opposed to linking the new treaty with missile defense issues. Indeed, the White House press release, announcing the treaty, affirmed that the new agreement will not "contain any constraints on testing, development or deployment of current or planned U.S. missile defense programs or current or planned United States long-range conventional strike capabilities." In Russia, news outlets reported that Sergei Lavrov, Russia's Foreign Minister, stated that there will be a "legally binding provision concerning the link between offensive and defensive strategic weapons," the latter of which will be constrained to the territory of each country.

U.S. Senator Richard Lugar (R.-Ind.) provided an explanation for the difference in how the U.S. and Russia have reported on the BMD issue; he stated: "missile defense will not be part of the treaty, but in the preamble both parties will state their positions and there will be a mention of offense and defense and the importance of those." Thus, the issue of BMD was not addressed in the main body of the treaty signed on April 8, 2010. Nonetheless, how New START affects U.S. missile defense plans may be a controversial issue during the U.S. Senate debates on treaty ratification.

Further Reading:

	U.S. Department of Defense, Missile Defense Agency
	CNS, Inventory of International Nonproliferation Organizations and Regimes, ABM Treaty
	U.S. State Department, Missile Defense Fact Sheet
	CDI, "Missile Defense"
	CRS, Steven A. Hildreth & Amy F. Wolf, "Ballistic Missile Defense and Offensive Arms Reductions: A Review of the Historical Record"
	Arms Control Association, Missile Defense
	CRS, Steven A. Hildreth and Carl Ek, "Long-Range Ballistic Missile Defense in Europe"
	NTI, Global Security Newswire, Missile Defense (Multiple Stories)
	NTI, Thomas Young, "The Reconfiguration of European Missile Defense, Russia's Response and the Likely Implications"
	National Security Archive, William Burr, The Secret History of the ABM Treaty 1969-1972
	U.S. Department of Defense, Ballistic Missile Defense Review
	Foreign Policy, Josh Rogin, "U.S. and Russia Agree on Missile-Defense Workaround for New Nuke Treaty"
	NTI, Sophie Walker, "Senate Consideration of New START: The Battle for Ratification"
	Multimedia:
	Missile Defense Agency, Media Library
	MissileThreat.com, Scenarios
	CNN, President Obama on Missile Defense