ABSTRACT

In seeking to determine the optimum policy toward the development of space-based lasers for ballistic missile defense (BMD) of the United States, it is prudent to consider the range of measures by which the Soviet Union might be expected to respond, and to estimate the likelihood of any particular option being adopted. By the late 1980s to early 1990s, when laser BMD systems might first begin to be deployed, both the Soviet Union and the United States will have anti-satellite weapons, but there is evidence that the US systems may exhibit superior performance. In the face of a BMD challenge to the effectiveness of the U.S.S.R.'s strategic offensive forces, the Soviet Union could respond with a vigorous ballistic missile defense program of its own. The Soviet Union could attempt to overcome US space-based laser BMD not by protecting missiles against laser weapon illumination, but rather by overwhelming the BMD system with large numbers of targets.