User:MJohnson651/Anti-ballistic missile (balance Soviet coverage)

Anti ballistic missile (ABM). The development of these missiles were highly sought after during the cold war by the United States and Russia in order to deter the likelihood of a ballistic missile reaching either country. ABM's are missiles launched from the ground to intercept oncoming ballistic missiles.

Development
For the United States, a pivotal moment for the importance of anti ballistic missile development was with the launch of the Soviet Sputnik satellite in October 1957. Project Defender was created and the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) was set up to "investigate the state-of-the-art defense applications of science and technology". The Army was in charge of the ABM system development despite objection from the Air Force. By 1960, the United States Army had developed the first ABM system termed the "Nike Zeus". Which was a system armed with a nuclear warhead, radar, communications system, and more, designed to target an oncoming projectile from space.

For the Soviet Union, an ABM system was constructed and maintained around Moscow. This was the only location they were allowed an ABM site as the 1972 Anti Ballistic Missile Treaty only allowed for one ABM system in the country for the U.S and Soviet Union. The Moscow ABM system contained 64 reloadable above ground launchers with missiles equipped with nuclear warheads, guidance/tracking radars, with radar sites established around the city. The Soviet's also have in place, launch detection satellite networks that can give a 30-minute warning of any U.S ICBM launch.

Similarly, both countries worked to develop increasingly advanced missile detection systems. The Soviet Union created the Krasnoyarsk radar in Siberia, which, violated the 1972 ABM treaty as this defense site was not located within 150 km of Moscow or the nations periphery. The Soviets claimed that this radar was for space detection, and not ballistic missile tracking, so it would not violate the treaty. This radar system was supposed to "close the gap" in the ballistic missile detection. In comparison, the United States created the PAVE PAWS system, along the nations periphery. This would further aid in missile detection for it's national security.

Furthermore, with the threat of ICBM's from the Soviet Union, the United States sought out the development of the Strategic Defense Initiative. This was coined as "Star Wars" due to the vision that this space system would fire lasers and simulated what would be a space battle between SDI and oncoming ballistic missiles. SDI consisted of and array of x-ray laser systems that would detect nuclear missiles, utilize high energy beams, and destroy them. SDI was highly criticized as the technology was not yet researched, and development would be highly expensive. However, if technology were to be proven, the SDI system would supposedly render any oncoming ballistic missile useless. Reagan believed that SDI, "would release us from the perpetual, enduring, soul crushing threat of Armageddon". Despite how ideal an ABM system like SDI would have been, the project was dismantled due to its high cost, and further research that would have had to be done to complete. The threat of SDI however, might have been a large contributor in the decision to end the war.