Anti - ballistic missile An anti - ballistic missile ( ABM ) is a missile designed to counter ballistic missile s . Ballistic missiles are used to deliver nuclear , chemical , biological or conventional warhead s in a ballistic flight trajectory . The term " anti - ballistic missile " describes any antimissile system designed to counter ballistic missiles . However , the term is used more commonly for systems designed to counter intercontinental ballistic missile s ( ICBMs ) . Current counter - ICBM systems . There are only two systems in the world that can intercept ICBMs . Besides them , many smaller systems exist ( tactical ABMs ) , that generally cannot intercept intercontinental strategic missiles , even if within range — an incoming ICBM simply moves too fast for these systems . The Russian A - 35 anti - ballistic missile system for defense of Moscow , whose development started in 1971 . Presently active , it is called A - 135 and uses Gorgon and Gazelle missiles with nuclear warhead s . The U . S . Ground - Based Midcourse Defense ( GMD ; previously known as National Missile Defense – NMD ) system has recently reached initial operational capability . Instead of using an explosive charge , it launches a kinetic projectile . The George W . Bush administration accelerated development and deployment of a system proposed in 1998 by the Clinton administration . The system is a dual purpose test and interception facility in Alaska , and in 2006 was operational with a few interceptor missiles . The Alaska site provides more protection against North Korean missiles or launches from Russia or China , but is likely less effective against missiles launched from the Middle East . President Bush referenced the 9 / 11 attacks and the proliferation of ballistic missiles as reasons for missile defense . The current GMD system has the more limited goal of shielding against a limited attack by a rogue state . American plans for Central European site . During 1993 , a symposium was held by western European nations to discuss potential future ballistic missile defence programs . In the end , the council recommended deployment of early warning and surveillance systems as well as regionally controlled defence systems . During Spring 2006 reports about negotiations between the United States and Poland as well as the Czech Republic were published . The plans propose the installation of a latest generation ABM system with a radar site in the Czech Republic and the launch site in Poland . The system was announced to be aimed against ICBMs from Iran and North Korea . This caused harsh comments by Russia ' s then - President Vladimir Putin at the Organization for Security and Co - operation in Europe ( OSCE ) security conference during spring 2007 in Munich . Other European ministers commented that any change of strategic weapons should be negotiated on NATO level and not ' unilaterally ' between the U . S . and other states ( although most strategic arms reduction treaties were between the Soviet Union and U . S . , not NATO ) . German foreign minister Frank - Walter Steinmeier expressed severe concerns about the way in which the U . S . had conveyed its plans to its European partners and criticised the U . S . administration for not having consulted Russia prior to announcing its endeavours to deploy a new missile defence system in Central Europe . As of July 2007 , a majority of Poles were opposed to hosting a component of the system in Poland . Current tactical systems . Many short - range tactical ABM systems are currently operational , and three are most known : the U . S . Army Patriot , U . S . Navy Aegis combat system , and the Israeli Arrow missile . United States of America . In several tests , the U . S . military have demonstrated the feasibility of destroying long and short range ballistic missiles . Combat effectiveness of newer systems against 1950s tactical ballistic missiles seems very high , as the Patriot Advanced Capability 3 ( PAC - 3 ) had a 100 % success rate in Operation Iraqi Freedom . U . S . Navy Aegis combat system uses RIM - 161 Standard missile SM - 3 . These systems , as opposed to U . S . GMD system , are not capable of intercepting an ICBM , even if it is in range . A new system , scheduled for deployment during 2009 , is U . S . Terminal High Altitude Area Defense ( THAAD ) system . It has a longer range , but it is not known if it will be able to intercept ICBMs . Russian Federation . The Moscow ABM defense system is able to intercept ICBM warheads , and is based on : Apart from the main Moscow deployment , Russia has striven actively for intrinsic ABM capabilities of its SAM systems . People ' s Republic of China . Historical Project 640 . Project 640 had been the PRC ' s indigenous effort to develop ABM capability . The Academy of Anti - Ballistic Missile & Anti - Satellite was established from 1969 for the purpose of developing Project 640 . The project was to involve at least three elements , including the necessary sensors and guidance / command systems , the Fan Ji ( FJ ) missile interceptor , and the XianFeng missile - intercepting cannon . The FJ - 1 had completed two successful flight tests during 1979 , while the low - altitude interceptor FJ - 2 completed some successful flight tests using scaled prototypes . A high altitude FJ - 3 interceptor was also proposed . Despite the development of missiles , the programme was slowed down due to financial and political reasons . It was finally closed down during 1980 under a new leadership of Deng Xiaoping as it was seemingly deemed unnecessary after the 1972 Anti - Ballistic Missile Treaty between the Soviet Union and the United States and the closure of the US Safeguard ABM system . Operational Chinese system . In March 2006 , China tested an interceptor system comparable to the U . S . Patriot missiles . Currently , China has acquired and is license - producing the S - 300PMU - 2 / S - 300PMU - 1 series of terminal ABM - capable SAMs . China - produced HQ - 9 SAM system may possess terminal ABM capabilities . PRC Navy ' s currently operating modern air - defense destroyers known as the Type 052C Destroyer and Type 051C Destroyer are armed with naval HHQ - 9 missiles . Surface - to - air missiles that supposedly have some terminal ABM capability ( as opposed to midcourse capability ) : Development of midcourse ABM in China . The technology and experience from the successful anti - satellite test using a ground - launched interceptor during January 2007 was immediately applied to current ABM efforts and development . China carried out a land - based anti - ballistic missile test on 11 January 2010 . The test was exoatmospheric and done in midcourse phase and with a kinetic kill vehicle . China is the second country after US that demonstrated intercepting ballistic missile with a kinetic kill vehicle , the interceptor missile was a SC - 19 . The sources suggest the system is not operationally deployed as of 2010 . On January 27 , 2013 , China did another anti ballistic missile test . According to the Chinese Defence Ministry , the missile launch is defensive in character and is not aimed against any countries . Experts hailed China ' s technological breakthrough because it is difficult to intercept ballistic missiles that have reached the highest point and speed in the middle of their course . Only 2 countries , including the US , have successfully conducted such a test in the past decade . Rumored midcourse missiles : France , United Kingdom and Italy . Italy and France have developed a missile family called Aster ( Aster 15 and Aster 30 ) . Aster 30 is capable of ballistic missile defense . On 18 October 2010 , France announced a successful tactical ABM test of the Aster 30 missile and on 1 December 2011 a successful interception of a Black Sparrow ballistic target missile . Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer s and French Navy and Italian Navy " Horizon " - class frigates are armed with PAAMS , using Aster 15 and 30 missiles . Also France is developing another version , Aster 30 block II which can destroy ballistic missiles with a maximum range of 3000 km . It will have a Kill Vehicle warhead . Japan . Since 1998 , when North Korea launched a Taepodong - 1 missile over northern Japan , the Japanese have been jointly developing a new Surface - to - air interceptor known as the Patriot Advanced Capability 3 ( PAC - 3 ) with the US . So far tests have been successful , and there are planned 11 locations that the PAC - 3 will be installed . A military spokesman said that tests had been done on two sites , one of them a business park in central Tokyo , and Ichigaya – a site not far from the Imperial Palace . Along with the PAC - 3 , Japan has installed a US - developed ship - based anti - ballistic missile system , which was tested successfully on 18 December 2007 . The missile was launched from a Japanese warship , in partnership with the U . S . Missile Defense Agency and destroyed a mock target launched from the coast . India . India has an active ABM development effort using indigenously developed and integrated radars , and indigenous missiles . In November 2006 , India successfully conducted the PADE ( Prithvi Air Defence Exercise ) in which an anti - ballistic missile , called the Prithvi Air Defense ( PAD ) , an " exoatmospheric " ( outside the atmosphere ) interceptor system , intercepted a Prithvi - II ballistic missile . The PAD missile has the secondary stage of the Prithvi missile and can reach altitude of . During the test , the target missile was intercepted at a altitude . India became the fourth nation in the world to acquire such a capability and the third nation to acquire it using in - house research and development . On 6 December 2007 , the Advanced Air Defence ( AAD ) missile system was tested successfully . This missile is an Endoatmospheric interceptor with an altitude of . According to scientist V K Saraswat of DRDO , the missiles will work in tandem to ensure a hit probability of 99 . 8 percent . Israel . Arrow . The Arrow project was begun after the U . S . and Israel agreed to co - fund it on 6 May 1986 . The Arrow ABM system was designed and constructed in Israel with financial support by the United States by a multi - billion dollar development program called " Minhelet Homa " with the participation of companies like Israel Military Industries , Tadiran and Israel Aerospace Industries . During 1998 the Israeli military conducted a successful test of their Arrow missile . Designed to intercept incoming missiles travelling at up to 2 mile / s ( 3 km / s ) , the Arrow is expected to perform much better than the Patriot did in the Gulf War . On 29 July 2004 Israel and the United States carried out joint experiment in the USA , in which the Arrow was launched against a real Scud missile . The experiment was a success , as the Arrow destroyed the Scud with a direct hit . During December 2005 the system was deployed successfully in a test against a replicated Shahab - 3 missile . This feat was repeated on 11 February 2007 . The Arrow 3 system is presently being developed , and , if successful , will be capable of exo - atmosphere interception of ballistic missiles , including of ICBM s . Iron dome . Iron Dome ( Hebrew : כיפת ברזל ) is a mobile air defense system in development by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems designed to intercept short - range rockets and artillery shells . The system was created as a defensive countermeasure to the rocket threat against Israel ' s civilian population on its northern and southern borders . It is designed to intercept very short - range threats up to 70 kilometers in all - weather situations . It was declared operational and initially deployed on 27 March 2011 near Beersheba . On 7 April 2011 , the system successfully intercepted a Grad rocket launched from Gaza for the first time . During the short Gaza War of November 2012 , Iron Dome interceptors destroyed 84 % of incoming missiles . David ’ s sling . David ' s Sling ( Hebrew : קלע דוד ) , also sometimes called Magic Wand ( Hebrew : שרביט קסמים ) , is an Israel Defense Forces military system being jointly developed by the Israeli defense contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and the American defense contractor Raytheon , designed to intercept medium - to long - range rockets and slower - flying cruise missiles , such as those possessed by Hezbollah , fired at ranges from 40 km to 300 km . Development in Republic of China ( Taiwan ) . The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is also engaged in the development of an anti - ballistic missile system , based on its indigenously developed Tien Kung - II ( Sky Bow ) SAM system . Although reports suggest a promising system , the ROC government continues to be interested strongly in the American Terminal High Altitude Area Defense ( THAAD ) program . History of ABMs . 1940s and 1950s . The idea of destroying rockets before they can hit their target dates from the first use of modern missiles in warfare , the German V - 1 and V - 2 program of World War II . British fighters attempted to destroy V - 1 " buzz bombs " in flight prior to impact , with some success , although concentrated barrages of heavy anti - aircraft artillery had greater success . Under the lend - lease program , 200 US 90 mm AA guns with SCR - 584 radar s and Western Electric / Bell Labs computers were sent to the UK . These demonstrated a 95 % success rate against V - 1s that flew into their range . The V - 2 , the first true ballistic missile , was impossible to destroy in the air . SCR - 584 ' s could be used to plot the trajectories of the missiles and provide some warning , but were more useful in backtracking their ballistic trajectory and determining the rough launch locations . The Allies launched Operation Crossbow to find and destroy V - 2s before launch , but these operations were largely ineffective . In one instance a Spitfire happened upon a V - 2 rising through the trees , and fired on it with no effect . This led to allied efforts to advance over their launching sites in Belgium and the Netherlands . A wartime study by Bell Labs into the task of shooting down ballistic missiles in flight concluded it was not possible . In order to intercept a missile , one needs to be able to steer the attack onto the missile before it hits . At the speeds the V - 2 flew at , this required guns of effectively infinite reaction time , or some sort of weapon with ranges on the order of dozens of miles , neither of which appeared possible . This was , however , just prior to the emergence of high - speed computing systems in the 1950s . By the mid - 1950s things had changed considerably , and many forces worldwide were considering ABM systems . The American armed forces began experimenting with anti - missile missiles soon after World War II , as the extent of German research into rocketry became clear . But defences against Soviet long - range bombers took priority until 1957 , when the Soviet Union demonstrated its advances in intercontinental ballistic missile technology with the launch of Sputnik , the Earth ' s first artificial satellite . The US Army accelerated development of their LIM - 49 Nike Zeus system in response . Zeus was subject to criticism throughout its development program , especially from those within the US Air Force and nuclear weapons establishments who suggested it would be much simpler to build more nuclear warheads and guarantee mutually assured destruction . Zeus was eventually cancelled in 1963 . In 1958 , a topic of research by the U . S . was the test explosions of several low yield nuclear weapon s at very high altitudes over the southern Atlantic ocean , launched from ships . The devices used were the 1 . 7 kt boosted fission W25 warhead . When such an explosion takes place a burst of X - rays are released that strike the Earth ' s atmosphere , causing secondary showers of charged particles over an area hundreds of miles across . These can become trapped in the Earth ' magnetic field , creating an artificial radiation belt . It was believed that this might be strong enough to damage warheads travelling through the layer . This proved not to be the case , but Argus returned key data about a related effect , the Nuclear electromagnetic pulse ( NEMP ) . Canada . Other countries were also involved in early ABM research . A more advanced project was at CARDE in Canada , which researched the main problems of ABM systems . A key problem with any radar system is that the signal is in the form of a cone , which spreads with distance from the transmitter . For long - distance interceptions like ABM systems , the inherent inaccuracy of the radar makes an interception difficult . CARDE considered using a terminal guidance system to address the accuracy concerns , and developed several advanced infrared detectors for this role . They also studied a number of missile airframe designs , a new and much more powerful solid rocket fuel , and numerous systems for testing it all . After a series of drastic budget reductions during the late 1950s the research ended . One offshoot of the project was Gerald Bull ' s system for inexpensive high - speed testing , consisting of missile airframes shot from a sabot round , which would later be the basis of Project HARP . Another was the CRV7 and Black Brant rockets , which used the new solid rocket fuel . Soviet Union . The Soviet military had requested funding for ABM research as early as 1953 , but were only given the go - ahead to begin deployment of such a system on 17 August 1956 . Their test system , known simply as System A , was based on the V - 1000 missile , which was similar to the early US efforts . The first successful test interception was carried out on 24 November 1960 , and the first with a live warhead on 4 March 1961 . In this test , a dummy warhead was released by a R - 12 ballistic missile launched from the Kapustin Yar , and intercepted by a V - 1000 launched from Sary - Shagan . The dummy warhead was destroyed by the impact of 16 , 000 tungsten - carbide spherical impactors 140 seconds after launch , at an altitude of . The V - 1000 missile system was nonetheless considered not reliable enough and abandoned in favour of nuclear - armed ABMs . A much larger missile , the Fakel 5V61 ( known in the west as Galosh ) , was developed to carry the larger warhead and carry it much further from the launch site . Further development continued , and the A - 35 anti - ballistic missile system , designed to protect Moscow , became operational in 1971 . A - 35 was designed for exoatmospheric interceptions , and would have been highly susceptible to a well - arrange attack using multiple warheads and radar black - out techniques . A - 35 was upgraded during the 1980s to a two - layer system , the A - 135 . The Gorgon ( SH - 11 / ABM - 4 ) long - range missile was designed to handle intercepts outside the atmosphere , and the Gazelle ( SH - 08 / ABM - 3 ) short - range missile endoatmospheric intercepts that eluded Gorgon . The A - 135 system is considered to be technologically equivalent to the United States Safeguard system of 1975 . American Nike - X of 1960s and plans of Sentinel . Nike Zeus failed to be a credible defence in an era of rapidly increasing ICBM counts due to its ability to attack only one target at a time . Additionally , significant concerns about its ability to successfully intercept warheads in the presence of high - altitude nuclear explosions , including its own , lead to the conclusion that the system would simply be too costly for the very low amount of protection it could provide . By the time it was cancelled in 1963 , potential upgrades had been explored for some time . Among these were radars capable of scanning much greater volumes of space and able to track many warheads and launch several missiles at once . These , however , did not address the problems identified with radar blackouts caused by high - altitude explosions . To address this need , a new missile with extreme performance was designed to attack incoming warheads at much lower altitudes , as low as 20 km . The new project encompassing all of these upgrades was launched as Nike - X . The main missile was LIM - 49 Spartan — a Nike Zeus upgraded for longer range and a much larger 5 megatonne warhead intended to destroy enemy ' s warheads with a burst of x - rays outside the atmosphere . A second shorter - range missile called Sprint with very high acceleration was added to handle warheads that evaded longer - ranged Spartan . Sprint was a very fast missile ( some sources claimed it accelerated to 8 , 000 mph ( 13 000 km / h ) within 4 seconds of flight — an average acceleration of " 90 g " ) and had a smaller W66 enhanced radiation warhead in the 1 – 3 kiloton range for in - atmosphere interceptions . The experimental success of Nike X persuaded the Lyndon B . Johnson administration to propose a thin ABM defense , that could provide almost complete coverage of the United States . In a September 1967 speech , Defense Secretary Robert McNamara referred to it as " Sentinel " . McNamara , a private ABM opponent because of cost and feasibility ( see cost - exchange ratio ) , claimed that Sentinel would be directed not against the Soviet Union ' s missiles ( since the USSR had more than enough missiles to overwhelm any American defense ) , but rather against the potential nuclear threat of the People ' s Republic of China . In the meantime a public debate over the merit of ABMs began . Difficulties that had already made an ABM system questionable for defending against an all - out attack . One problem was the Fractional Orbital Bombardment System ( FOBS ) that would give little warning to the defense . Another problem was high altitude EMP ( whether from offensive or defensive nuclear warheads ) which could degrade defensive radar systems . When this proved infeasible for economic reasons , a much smaller deployment using the same systems was proposed , namely Safeguard ( described later ) . The problem of defense against MIRVs . ABM systems were developed initially to counter single warheads launched from large Intercontinental ballistic missile s ( ICBMs ) . The economics seemed simple enough ; since rocket costs increase rapidly with size , the price of the ICBM launching a large warhead should always be greater than the much smaller interceptor missile needed to destroy it . In an arms race the defense would always win . In practice , the price of the interceptor missile was considerable , due to its sophistication . The system had to be guided all the way to an interception , which demanded guidance and control systems that worked within and outside of the atmosphere . The Nike Zeus was expected to cost about $ 1 million , about the same as an ICBM . However , due to their relatively short ranges , an ABM missile would be needed to counter an ICBM wherever it might be aimed . That implies that dozens of interceptors are needed for every ICBM . This led to intense debates about the " cost - exchange ratio " between interceptors and warheads . Conditions changed dramatically in 1970 with the introduction of Multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle ( MIRV ) warheads . Suddenly each launcher was throwing not one warhead , but several . These would spread out in space , ensuring that a single interceptor would be needed for each warhead . This simply added to the need to have several interceptors for each warhead in order to provide geographical coverage . Now it was clear that an ABM system would always be many times more expensive than the ICBMs they defended against . In summary , the MIRV made ABM economically ineffective , and practically non - workable . The Anti - Ballistic Missile Treaty of 1972 . Technical , economic and political problems described resulted in the ABM treaty of 1972 , which restricted the deployment of strategic ( not tactical ) anti - ballistic missiles . By the ABM treaty and a 1974 revision , each country was allowed to deploy a mere 100 ABMs to protect a single , small area . The Soviets retained their Moscow defences . The U . S . designated their ICBM sites near Grand Forks Air Force Base , North Dakota , where Safeguard was already under advanced development . The radar systems and anti - ballistic missiles were approximately 90 miles north / northwest of Grand Forks AFB , near Concrete , North Dakota . The missiles were deactivated in 1975 . The main radar site ( PARCS ) is still used as an early warning ICBM radar , facing relative north . It is located at Cavalier Air Force Station , North Dakota . Brief use of Safeguard in 1975 / 1976 . The U . S . Safeguard system , which utilized the nuclear - tipped LIM - 49A Spartan and Sprint missiles , in the short operational period of 1975 / 1976 , was a second counter - ICBMs system in the world . Safeguard protected only the main fields of US ICBMs from attack , theoretically ensuring that an attack could be responded to with a US launch , enforcing the mutually assured destruction principle . SDI experiments in the 1980s . The Reagan - era Strategic Defense Initiative ( often referred to as " Star Wars " ) , along with research into various energy - beam weaponry , brought new interest in the area of ABM technologies . SDI was an extremely ambitious program to provide a total shield against a massive Soviet ICBM attack . The initial concept envisioned large sophisticated orbiting laser battle stations , space - based relay mirrors , and nuclear - pumped X - ray laser satellites . Later research indicated that some planned technologies such as X - ray lasers were not feasible with then - current technology . As research continued , SDI evolved through various concepts as designers struggled with the difficulty of such a large complex defense system . SDI remained a research program and was never deployed . Several post - SDI technologies are used by the present Missile Defense Agency ( MDA ) . Lasers originally developed for the SDI plan are currently in use for astronomical observations . Used to ionize gas in the upper atmosphere , they provide telescope operators with a target to calibrate their instruments . Tactical ABMs deployed in 1990s . The Israeli Arrow missile system was tested initially during 1990 , before the first Gulf War . The Arrow was supported by the United States throughout the 1990s . The Patriot antiaircraft missile was the first deployed tactical ABM system , although it was not designed from the outset for that task and consequently had limitations . It was used during the 1991 Gulf War to attempt to intercept Iraqi Scud missiles . Post - war analyses show that the Patriot was much less effective than initially thought because of its radar and control system ' s inability to discriminate warheads from other objects when the Scud missiles broke up during reentry . Testing ABM technology continued during the 1990s with mixed success . After the Gulf War , improvements were made to several U . S . air defense systems . A new Patriot , PAC - 3 , was developed and tested — a complete redesign of the PAC - 2 deployed during the war , including a totally new missile . The improved guidance , radar and missile performance improves the probability of kill over the earlier PAC - 2 . During Operation Iraqi Freedom , Patriot PAC - 3s had a nearly 100 % success rate against Iraqi TBMs fired . However , since no longer range Iraqi Scud missiles were used , PAC - 3 effectiveness against those was untested . Patriot was involved in three friendly fire incidents : two incidents of Patriot shootings at coalition aircraft and one of U . S . aircraft shooting at a Patriot battery . A new version of the Hawk missile was tested during the early to mid - 1990s and by the end of 1998 the majority of US Marine Corps Hawk systems were modified to support basic theater anti - ballistic missile capabilities . MIM - 23 Hawk missile is not operational in the U . S . service since 2002 , but is used by many other countries . Soon after the Gulf war , the Aegis combat system was expanded to include ABM capabilities . The Standard missile system was also enhanced and tested for ballistic missile interception . During the late 1990s SM - 2 block IVA missiles were tested in a theater ballistic missile defense function . Standard Missile 3 ( SM - 3 ) systems have also been tested for an ABM role . In 2008 an SM - 3 missile launched from a " Ticonderoga " - class cruiser , the USS Lake Erie , successfully intercepted a non - functioning satellite . From 1992 to 2000 a demonstration system for the US Army Terminal High Altitude Area Defense was deployed at White Sands Missile Range . Tests were conducted on a regular basis and resulted in early failures , but successful intercepts occurred during 1999 . Brilliant Pebbles concept . Approved for acquisition by the Pentagon during 1991 but never realized , Brilliant Pebbles was a proposed space - based anti - ballistic system that was meant to avoid some of the problems of the earlier SDI concepts . Rather than use sophisticated large laser battle stations and nuclear - pumped X - ray laser satellites , Brilliant Pebbles consisted of a thousand very small , intelligent orbiting satellites with kinetic warheads . The system relied on improvements of computer technology , avoided problems with overly centralized command and control and risky , expensive development of large , complicated space defense satellites . It promised to be much less expensive to develop and have less technical development risk . The name Brilliant Pebbles comes from the small size of the satellite interceptors and great computational power enabling more autonomous targeting . Rather than rely exclusively on ground - based control , the many small interceptors would cooperatively communicate among themselves and target a large swarm of ICBM warheads in space or in the late boost phase . Development was discontinued later in favor of a limited ground - based defense . Transformation of SDI into MDA , development of NMD / GMD . While the Reagan era Strategic Defense Initiative was intended to shield against a massive Soviet attack , during the early 1990s , President George H . W . Bush called for a more limited version using rocket - launched interceptors based on the ground at a single site . Such system was developed since 1992 , is expected to become operational in 2010 and capable of intercepting small number of incoming ICBMs . First called the National Missile Defense ( NMD ) , since 2002 it was renamed Ground - Based Midcourse Defense ( GMD ) . It was planned to protect all 50 states from a rogue missile attack . The Alaska site provides more protection against North Korean missiles or accidental launches from Russia or China , but is likely less effective against missiles launched from the Middle East . The Alaska interceptors may be augmented later by the naval Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System , by ground - based missiles in other locations , or by the Boeing Airborne Laser . During 1998 , Defense secretary William Cohen proposed spending an additional $ 6 . 6 billion on intercontinental ballistic missile defense programs to build a system to protect against attacks from North Korea or accidental launches from Russia or China . In terms of organization , during 1993 SDI was reorganized as the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization ( BMDO ) . In 2002 it was renamed to Missile Defense Agency ( MDA ) . U . S withdrawal from Anti - Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002 . On 13 June 2002 , the United States withdrew from the Anti - Ballistic Missile Treaty and subsequently recommenced developing missile defense systems that would have formerly been prohibited by the bilateral treaty . The action was covered by the ostensible reason of needing to defend against the possibility of a missile attack conducted by a rogue state . The next day , the Russian Federation promptly dropped the START II agreement , intended to completely ban MIRV s .