Protecting the national homeland from ballistic missile attack has become an important element of national defence strategy across the globe. In 1982, under President Ronald Reagan, the US declared its intent to provide the homeland protection from ballistic missile attack under the Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI). Prior to 1982, various indigenous research and development programmes resulted in core technologies to defeat incoming ballistic missiles. Now, the US, Europe, Israel, India, Japan, and Russia have embarked on designing national missile defence architectures that meet their specific defensive requirements. The result is a world-wide catalogue of missile defence capabilities featuring advanced technologies and system architectures tailored for the unique defensive requirements of each nation or region. Collaborative efforts to interoperate among these systems are a monumental task facing the ‘System of Systems’ challenge in terms of political will.

The extent of ballistic missile proliferation and weapons of mass destruction (WMD), whether through black market trade or as a means of national offensive doctrine between allies is the subject of debate in capitals and among national strategists. Understanding the motivation of a nation to increase a ballistic missile inventory no longer takes on the view of the polarized world during the cold war. Whether the reasons are to meet a strategic doctrine, have tactical advantage in the battlefield, or use it as a terrorist machine, the proliferation of systems capable of delivering Chemical, Biological, Nuclear (CBN) weapons and even conventional warheads will most likely continue. The convergence of limited delivery capability and small quantities of CBN in an unstable country or terrorist organisations poses a severe threat.

India has invested heavily in the development of both offensive and defensive ballistic missiles, undertaking various programmes spanning several decades. The US and India continue to explore areas of defence cooperation, and under the ‘New Framework for Indo-US Defence Relations’, the two nations included ‘expanding collaboration relating to missile defence’.

Within this context, this brief essay looks at the US approach to missile defence, relationships with other allies, and suggests some approaches that the US and India might take to meet the intent of the Indo-US Defence Framework.

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