The ABM Treaty of 1972 served to address the destabilizing effect ABM systems had upon the strategic nuclear relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union as reflected in MAD.  The ABM Treaty prohibits a national missile defense system, and limits each party to two ABM installations of 100 interceptors at each site.  These provisions attempted to temper the offensive/defensive arms race which would have ensued had ABM deployments gone ahead unrestrained.  In 1974, the Treaty was amended to allow for only one ABM installation per country.  The United States deployed its ABM system to protect the ICBM fields in North Dakota, and the Soviets elected to protect Moscow.  

However, only days after the North Dakota site became operational, the House of Representatives voted to close it and end all ABM programs. This decision was prompted by scientific testimony that the ABM systems in development were not technologically sophisticated enough to defend against incoming ICBMs, as well as the fact that the Soviets’ fielding of multiple independent reentry vehicle (MIRV) warheads increased the number of warheads carried by each ICBM and presented an arsenal that could easily overwhelm any foreseeable ABM system.  Further, the Safeguard interceptor missiles employed nuclear warheads that would destroy the target missile by exploding within range of the blast radius.  This defense proved counterproductive as the electro-magnetic pulse from the explosion blinded the tracking radars on the ground.  To address this problem, the Army began research on destroying incoming missiles through collision, or hit-to-kill, technology.

Issues surrounding the current national missile defense program revisit those of the early 1970s: the strategic destabilization caused by ABM systems, and their catalytic role in compelling a reactionary offensive/defensive arms race.

Timeline

May 26, 1972 – President Nixon and Soviet General Secretary Leonid Breshnev sign the ABM Treaty that prohibits a nationwide missile defense but allows each country two ABM installations of 100 interceptors at each location.

July 3, 1974 – The ABM Treaty is amended to permit only one ABM installation for each country. 

October 1, 1975 – The North Dakota Safeguard ABM site becomes operational.   

October 2, 1975 – The House of Representatives votes to close the North Dakota site because the new Soviet multiple independent reentry vehicle (MIRV) would easily overwhelm Safeguard.  Vulnerability to direct attack, and technical problems such as radar blinding by electromagnetic pulse from exploding nuclear warheads, made the system unreliable, and even threatened Minuteman forces it was assigned to protect. 

November 18, 1975 – The Senate votes to terminate Safeguard.

1978 – The Safeguard system is closed completely save for its radar, which is incorporated into the North American Air Defense Command’s (NORAD) warning and assessment network.

Continue to the 1980s

NMD History Referenced Material

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