The upcoming 2022 Missile Defense Review and the Biden administration missile defense policy

Abstract

The U.S. Missile Defense Review (MDR) draws attention as a central document in this area. The two reviews published so far (2010 and 2019) within a year of the Nuclear Posture Review were an important addition to the National Defense Strategy. The latter is devoted to clarifying Washington's political-military course, and the Nuclear Posture Review, the MDR, and the Space Posture Review deal with the most important elements of the military policy of the United States. Taking into account the positions expressed by the Biden administration officials, conclusions are drawn about the content of the 2022 MDR. In addition, the prospects for the implementation of certain areas of the U.S. missile defense policy are assessed, taking into account the experience of 2002-2021. If the current document is made the same way as previous ones, then it covers five main topics – missile threats, homeland missile defense, regional missile defense, programs’ organization, and cooperation with allies. The Biden administration’s two budget requests for missile defense (FY2022 and FY2023) suggest a course of action. In general, the new approach to the development of missile defense being applied can provide tangible results in the face of a possible reduction in funding. The role of allies in regional missile defense architectures may increase as a result of the interpretation of experience of the use of missiles and air and missile defense systems.