The BDS will have a new Boost Phase Intercept (BPI). The BPI will reduce the current "safe haven" range. A "safe haven" is the region where the missile is out of range from the BPI. The new BPI will detect the threat missile a few seconds after the launch and the interceptor has a better chance of winning the race between missile and the interceptor. The second segment is the Midcourse Defense System (MDS). MDS has two categories, ground based and sea based. The ground based system counters the threat of an incoming missile and has "hit to kill" capabilities, meaning the anti- missile will find the incoming warhead and destroy it. The sea based will intercept incoming ICBMs in the same fashion as the ground based system. The Terminal Defense System (TDS) is the last line of defense against an incoming warhead. There are three types of TDS, Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) protects from short or medium range threats, The Arrow Deployment Program (ADP) used in the U.S and Israel to counter short to medium ranged threats, and lastly, PATRIOT PAC- 3. The PAC-3 system counters the enemy's defense. The PAC-3 has a 7 for 8, body to body intercept for ballistic missiles and a 4 for 4, body to body intercept for cruise missiles. .
The Bay of Pigs conflict in 1962 started the Cuban Missile Crisis which essentially started the cold war between the USSR and the U.S. At the time Khrushchev and the USSR was the United States" enemy and each nation needed to develop weapons and defense system better that its foes. In 1989 when communism fell, with the Berlin Wall, Russia was no longer a nuclear threat and the ties between the U.S and Russia became stronger. The new anti- ballistic missile system will, as the U.S claims, defend against the current enemies; Afghanistan, Iraq and possibly North Korea, although the U.S ties are becoming stronger with Pyongyang as North and South Korea are undergoing peace treaty talks.
It was a war of ideas between the Free World and Communism (Lucas, P 1). ... It outlawed nationwide antiballistic missile defenses and established a five-year moratorium on the construction of new strategic ballistic missiles. ...