ABSTRACT
In his March 23, 1983 address on military spending, President Ronald Reagan presented his vision of a future in which American defenses could “intercept and destroy strategic ballistic missiles before they reached our own soil or that of our allies.” He directly addressed space-based weapons, calling for development of prototypes “so that we will be prepared to deploy fully developed and operationally ready systems should their use prove to be in our national interest.” Although Reagan’s address itself contained no references to specific strategic ballistic missile defense (BMD) technologies, it was apparent to many that his vision of a future free of the terror of nuclear weapons was based on the development and deployment of beam technology weapons such as lasers, particle beams, and microwaves. BMD may be divided into two broad categories: passive and active. Given certain capabilities and certain deployment patterns, BMD could improve American and Western security.
