ABSTRACT
Soviet BMD policy in the early 1960s was rooted in an unwillingness to regard vulnerability to nuclear attack as an acceptable basis for Soviet security. Soviet military strategy assigned BMD an important role in the conduct of war. According to Sokolovskii, the National Air Defense Forces would have the primary role in protecting the country from nuclear strikes and in repelling the enemy's nuclear attack. Although the Soviet leaders recognize mutual vulnerability to devastating retaliatory strikes as an objective condition, they do not regard nuclear war as impossible. The modernization of Soviet air defenses to deal with cruise missiles and improved bombers has given them the ability to handle smaller radar cross-sections and shorter reaction times, and has thus made them more capable against ballistic missile reentry vehicles (RVs).
