Missile defense aims to neutralize missile threats, including long-range nuclear missiles, short-range tactical missiles, and those in different trajectory stages. Objectives include identifying, tracking, intercepting, and destroying incoming missiles. Many nations have missile defense programs, but some have been criticized for high costs and disappointing results. The development of missile defense systems has led to the invention of more innovative weapons, fueling the need for better defense and better missiles.
Missile defense is a branch of military science that focuses on neutralizing threats that come in the form of missiles. Originally, it focused on long-range nuclear missiles, but today a range of missiles are included in these programs. Many nations have some form of missile defense program; countries that produce a range of missiles tend to have more extensive programs.
There are three basic types of missile defense. Strategic defense is designed to protect a country from long-range missiles, such as ICBMs. Theatrical missile defense focuses on short-range missiles that could be used on the battlefield or in a theater of war, while tactical defense deals with short-range tactical missiles.
Some people prefer to classify missile defense by the trajectory stage reached by potential threats; for example, it may focus on the recall phase, intermediate phase, or terminal phase. Other defense programs are geared towards specific intercept points, such as inside or outside the Earth’s atmosphere.
Several objectives are addressed by advocacy programs around the world. The first is the ability to identify incoming missiles and classify them to determine the magnitude of the threat they pose. Next is the ability to track missiles, with the theoretical ability to predict their path. Interception and destruction are also key, as it doesn’t do a country much good to know a missile is coming if it can’t do anything about it.
Since the 1940s, when several nations began producing missiles and recognizing that these weapons could be potentially devastating, the field of missile defense has expanded dramatically. Some programs have been heavily criticized for tending to gobble up a large amount of military spending, often with minimal and sometimes disappointing results. A number of programs have even ended up as total failures, much to the disappointment of their sponsors.
Missile defense is an interesting example of the catch-22 that many militaries find themselves in. Since missiles have been developed as a military weapon, ways need to be found to defend countries against missile attacks. The development of missile defense programs has led many nations to invent more innovative weapons designed to subvert existing missile defense systems, thus fueling the need for better defense, forcing the development of better missiles, and so on.
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