The strategic implications of layered missile defence

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Abstract

In a November 2020 missile-defence test, the US demonstrated that the SM-3 Block IIA missile could destroy a target representing an intercontinental-range ballistic missile (ICBM). This was the first time a ship-based missile has intercepted an ICBM-class target, and the success of the test has given proponents of missile defence an opportunity to argue that the SM-3 should be integrated into the country’s existing defences against long-range missiles. Critics argue that this step could threaten crisis stability in a potential conflict between the US and China or Russia.