ASSESSMENTS

A Missile Defense Review to Intensify an Arms Race

Feb 6, 2019 | 10:00 GMT

Russian Defense Ministry officials show off the Russia's 9M729 cruise missile at the military Patriot Park outside Moscow on Jan. 23, 2019.

Russian Defense Ministry officials show off the Russia's 9M729 cruise missile at the military Patriot Park outside Moscow on Jan. 23, 2019. The Pentagon's latest National Defense Review appears set to escalate the arms race.

(VASILY MAXIMOV/AFP/Getty Images)

Highlights

  • The U.S. Missile Defense Review envisions the allocation of resources for military projects that would give an edge to the United States in its competition with Russia and China.
  • Developing and fielding missile defenses that could counter the other great powers will be no easy task, considering the financial and technological barriers.
  • Moreover, the potential for progress on missile defense systems will alarm Russia and China, further intensifying the great power competition and the global arms race. 

After more than a few delays, the United States finally released its Missile Defense Review on Jan. 17. The review, together with the Nuclear Posture Review and the National Defense Strategy released a year ago, outlines the United States' geostrategic direction and its national security posture amid an intensifying great power competition with Russia and China. In keeping with the two other documents, the Missile Defense Review also envisions the allocation of more resources for projects that would boost Washington in its competition with the Moscow and Beijing. Improved missile defense, for instance, could give the United States more options if it succeeds in overcoming technological and budgetary constraints, but the shift to yet another dimension of the strategic competition is only likely to exacerbate the arms race and incite mistrust among the great powers. ...

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