Anti-ballistic missile: Difference between revisions
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Larry_Sanger (talk) Incorporating article text that was at Anti-Ballistic Missile. Ya gotta look around to see if someone has written an article on your topic under a slightly different name (or capitalization!)... |
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An anti-ballistic missile (ABM) is a missile designed to shoot down ballistic [[missile|missiles]]. |
An anti-ballistic missile (ABM) is a missile designed to shoot down ballistic [[missile|missiles]]: a missile designed to counter strategic ballistic missiles or their elements in flight trajectory. |
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ABMs have had a rather chequered history. Soviet experiments in the [[1960s]] with an ABM system based near Moscow failed, as did American ones, leading to the U.S.A.-U.S.S.R. ABM treaty of (1971?), which banned the development of missiles designed to shoot down each other's ICBMs. |
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The election of [[George W. Bush]] in 2000 has led to the renewed interest and several ABM tests, as the |
The election of [[George W. Bush]] in 2000 has led to the renewed interest and several ABM tests, as the U.S. military and their new political masters seek to demonstrate the feasibility of shooting down ballistic missiles. It remains to be seen whether a system reliable enough to be useful operationally can be developed. |
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See: [[ABM treaty]] |
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Revision as of 18:38, 11 December 2001
An anti-ballistic missile (ABM) is a missile designed to shoot down ballistic missiles: a missile designed to counter strategic ballistic missiles or their elements in flight trajectory.
ABMs have had a rather chequered history. Soviet experiments in the 1960s with an ABM system based near Moscow failed, as did American ones, leading to the U.S.A.-U.S.S.R. ABM treaty of (1971?), which banned the development of missiles designed to shoot down each other's ICBMs.
The Reagan-era Strategic Defence Initiative, along with research into various energy-beam weaponry, brought new interest in the area of ABM technologies, but nothing was deployed operationally until Patriot missiles were used in the 1991 Gulf War to shoot down Iraqi Scud missiles. Many observers claim the Patriot was largely ineffective, but then the weapon was originally designed as an anti-aircraft and cruise missile weapon, not designed to shoot down much faster-moving ballistic weapons.
The election of George W. Bush in 2000 has led to the renewed interest and several ABM tests, as the U.S. military and their new political masters seek to demonstrate the feasibility of shooting down ballistic missiles. It remains to be seen whether a system reliable enough to be useful operationally can be developed.
See: ABM treaty