Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) - Star Wars: Defending Against Doomsday

Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) - Star Wars

Defending Against Doomsday

  • During the Cold War, the United States and the U.S.S.R. possessed thousands of nuclear warheads.
  • These warheads could be deployed rapidly against each other.
  • Both superpowers understood that a nuclear attack would likely come over the Arctic Circle, being the shortest distance between Russia and America.
  • The U.S. partnered with Canada to create the Distant Early Warning Line (D.E.W. Line).
  • The D.E.W. Line was a radar defense system monitoring the high Arctic for incoming missiles, designed to alert America of any Soviet nuclear missiles.

Question:

  • Why would a nuclear attack from Russia come across the Arctic Circle?

I.C.B.M.s and Nuclear Submarines

  • The D.E.W. Line became obsolete with the advent of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (I.C.B.M.s) and nuclear missiles launched from submarines.
  • I.C.B.M.s could be launched from the ground, travel into Earth's orbit beyond radar stations, and then strike enemy targets.
  • Submarine-launched nuclear missiles could attack from any ocean, bypassing the Arctic Circle.
  • The U.S. needed a new strategy to defend against nuclear attacks.

Question:

  • How did I.C.B.M.s and nuclear weapons launched from submarines make the D.E.W. Line obsolete?

Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) or Star Wars

  • President Ronald Reagan initiated the Strategic Defense Initiative (S.D.I.) to defend America from nuclear attack.
  • S.D.I. aimed to use ground-based and space-based weapons to intercept nuclear missiles.
  • If successful, S.D.I. would eliminate Mutually Assured Destruction (M.A.D.) by destroying warheads before they landed.

Question:

  • What was S.D.I. designed to do?

Impact on Mutually Assured Destruction (M.A.D.)

  • Previously, the U.S.S.R. and America had the ability to completely destroy each other through nuclear attack, deterring either nation from attacking the other.
  • S.D.I. potentially allowed the U.S. to attack Russia and destroy any Russian counter-attack.
  • This changed the dynamics of M.A.D.

Question:

  • How did S.D.I. change M.A.D. (Mutually Assured Destruction)?

Star Wars Fails to Impress

  • Critics argued that S.D.I. was incredibly difficult, comparing it to hitting a bullet with another bullet.
  • Many scientists considered S.D.I.'s laser defense system expensive and hard to set up.
  • Two major failings of S.D.I. included:
    1. The Soviets could use thousands of decoy missiles to overwhelm the defense system, allowing some real nuclear missiles to penetrate.
    2. S.D.I. would not protect the U.S. from submarine-launched attacks as the missiles wouldn't enter Earth's orbit.

Question:

  • List two reasons why S.D.I. was likely to fail.

    1.
    2.

Conclusion

  • S.D.I. was never fully adopted by the U.S.
  • By the time the technology was nearing readiness, Russia was no longer considered an enemy of America.