Publication

This report highlights the US Department of Defense’s review of its ballistic missile defense (BMD) programs and capabilities and focuses on the problems and opportunities facing BMD in the Asia-Pacific Theater. More specifically, the study focuses on 1) how the BMD capabilities of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Australia might complement the tactical objectives of forward-based US BMD elements; 2) the large-scale goals of the US BMD strategy in the Asia-Pacific region, which include alliance reassurance, strategic and regional stability, sustained deterrence, and left- and right-of-launch missile defense options; and 3) the complementary role of Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD), with its emphasis on defensive counter-air operations that are not part of the BMD threat portfolio.