ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the core US Theatre-Missile Defence (TMD)programmes, assesses the technical performance required to achieve meaningful protection and examines the circumstances under which theatre systems might appear threatening to Russia and China. The core TMD programmes being funded by the BMDO include the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3), Navy Area Defense (NAD) and the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) lower-tier defences; and Theatre High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) and Navy Theatre-Wide (NTW) upper-tier defences. Theatre-missile defence therefore reduces the risks associated with US regional intervention, and reassures US allies. For example, China is more concerned about US TMD cooperation with Taiwan than it is about NMD deployments in Alaska, although Beijing vociferously opposes these as well. Based on the calculations of the Congressional Budget Office and others, a system like THAAD could, with launch-point cueing from space-based early-warning satellites, defend an area approximately 120km in diameter against a single strategic re-entry vehicle.
