New Technologies and the ABM Treaty

Abstract

The Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty was signed and ratified by the United States and the Soviet Union in 1972. It forbids both the deployment of defenses for the territory of each country against “strategic ballistic missiles” and the development of a “base” for such a defense. To support this goal the treaty limits ABM systems in quantity, in basing mode, and to certain agreed deployment areas. In addition, the traditional interpretation of the treaty would impose sharp limits on the development, testing, and deployment of ABM components that are not interceptor missiles, fixed land-based launchers, or radars.1