![]() ![]() March 21, 1997. Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin agree to a START III framework. A lawsuit filed by a former TRW employee alleges that TRW misled defense officials about the results of the test. June 24, 1997. First fly-by test of the Boeing/TRW exoatmospheric kill vehicle for the NMD system. March 1996. The "Defend America Act," which declares it US policy to build a limited missile defense by 2003 is introduced in Congress, but does not come to a vote due to the enormous projected cost of deployment, then estimated at $31-60 billion. November 1995. A report from the intelligence community declares that no country could threaten the US with a ballistic missile attack in the next 15 years. May 1993. Secretary of Defense Aspin renames SDIO the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO).įebruary 15, 1995. The House narrowly defeats the section of the Republican "Contract with America" requiring deployment of a nationwide missile defense as soon as practical. ![]() January 3, 1993. Presidents Bush and Yeltsin sign START II, limiting deployed warheads on each side to 3,000-3,500. Despite initial glowing reports from the Pentagon, a study by the General Accounting Office shows that only 9 percent of intercept attempts were reliably successful. January 29, 1991. President Bush announces the Global Protection Against Limited Strikes (GPALS) system to counter unauthorized, accidental or limited attacks.įebruary 1991. During the Persian Gulf War, the US Patriot missile attempts to intercept Iraqi Scud attacks. July 31, 1989. Presidents Bush and Gobachev sign START I, reducing arsenals to 6,000 deployed warheads on each side. June 14, 1989. President Bush decides to continue the SDI program, but focus on the development of "Brilliant Pebbles," a space-based interceptor design. October 1986. President Reagan and Soviet President Gorbachev discuss the complete elimination of nuclear weapons, but the proposal collapses when Reagan refuses to agree to limitations on SDI. Opponents call it "Star Wars."Īpril 24, 1984. Secretary of Defense Weinberger signs a Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) charter. March 23, 1983. President Reagan announces that the US will start an expanded research and development program of missile defense system which makes "nuclear weapons impotent and obsolete." His idea becomes the "Strategic Defense Initiative," or SDI. January 1976. The full Congress approves shutting down Safeguard, and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announces the system's termination.ġ978. The Safeguard system is terminated completely. October 2, 1975. US House of Representatives votes to close the Grand Forks Safeguard site. Safeguard system begins operating in Grand Forks, ND. July 1974. ABM Treaty amended to allow only one limited missile defense site to each side. May 1972. US and Soviet Union sign the ABM Treaty, banning nationwide missile defenses and limiting each side to two missile defense sites with no more than 100 interceptors at each site. March 1969. Now called Safeguard, the system is given go-ahead for deployment.Īugust 1969. US Senate votes to deploy Safeguard missile defense, with the Vice President casting a tie-breaking vote. September 1967. President Johnson announces plans to deploy the Sentinel missile defense system (a successor to the Nike X program).įebruary 1969. President Nixon delays deployment to review US nuclear programs. ![]() Meanwhile, US defense contractors conclude that such technology is beyond their current reach.ġ957. US begins work on its first major missile defense effort, the Nike-Zeus system.ġ962. After technology flaws doom the Nike-Zeus project, the US begins work on the Nike X missile defense program, which uses nuclear-tipped interceptors.ġ966. US Defense Secretary McNamara announces that the Soviet Union has deployed its Galosh missile defense system. 1945. Following World War II, the US Army begins planning for research and development of missile defenses. ![]()
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