Defense Primer: Ballistic Missile Defense (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Revised Jan. 30, 2024 |
| Report Number |
IF10541 |
| Report Type |
In Focus |
| Authors |
Steven A. Hildreth |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
The United States has been developing and deploying
ballistic missile defenses (BMD) to defend against enemy
missiles since the late 1940s. In the late 1960s and early
1970s, the United States deployed a limited nuclear-tipped
BMD system to protect a portion of its U.S. land-based
nuclear ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) force in
order to preserve a strategic deterrent against a Soviet
nuclear attack on the Homeland. That system was
dismantled in 1975 because of concerns over cost and
effectiveness, and in FY1975 the Army started funding
research into hit-to-kill or kinetic energy interceptors as an
alternative.
In 1983, President Reagan announced an enhanced effort
for BMD. Since the start of the Reagan initiative in 1985,
BMD has been a key national security interest in Congress.
It has appropriated over $200 billion for a broad range of
research and development programs and deployment of
BMD systems.
