NMD in the United States
Evolution Over the Last 50 Years
The United States has pursued research and development into anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems since the early 1950s. In the mid-1960s, it developed the Sentinel system, which would have used ground-based, nuclear-armed interceptor missiles and would have been deployed around a number of major urban areas to protect against Soviet attack. In 1969, the Nixon Administration renamed the system "Safeguard," and changed its focus to deployment around offensive missile fields, rather than cities, to ensure that these missiles could survive a first strike and retaliate against the Soviet Union. The Senate almost approved an amendment halting construction of the system in…
