SDI

E79884

SDI is the abbreviation for the Strategic Defense Initiative, a proposed U.S. missile defense program announced in the 1980s to protect against nuclear attacks using space- and ground-based systems.


Statements (49)
Predicate Object
instanceOf U.S. government agency
United States defense program
missile defense program
abbreviation SDI
administeredBy Strategic Defense Initiative Organization
announcedBy Ronald Reagan
announcedByTitle President of the United States
announcedIn televised speech
announcementDate 1983-03-23
componentType air-based systems
ground-based systems
sea-based systems
space-based systems
country United States
criticizedBy arms control advocates
scientists
some U.S. allies
criticizedFor high projected cost
potential to destabilize nuclear deterrence
technical infeasibility
domain ballistic missile defense
space warfare
era Reagan administration
fundingSource U.S. federal budget
goal develop missile defense system
render nuclear missiles less effective as strategic weapons
influenced later U.S. missile defense policy
nickName Star Wars
nickNameGivenBy critics
opponentCountry Soviet Union
parentAgency U.S. Department of Defense
policyContext arms race
nuclear deterrence
politicalPartyOfAnnouncer Republican Party
purpose protect the United States from ballistic nuclear missile attacks
researchEmphasis advanced sensors and tracking
command, control, and communications
particle beam weapons
space-based laser systems
standsFor Strategic Defense Initiative
status never fully deployed
successorProgram Ballistic Missile Defense Organization
Missile Defense Agency
technologyType directed-energy weapons
ground-based interceptors
kinetic energy weapons
space-based interceptors
timePeriod Cold War
treatyImplication Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty

Referenced by (2)

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