The Invisible Umbrella

Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) systems comprise a range of assets focused on varying challenges. As the nature of the threat has grown more complex, so the technology of BMD has evolved to help safeguard military and civilian targets alike.

- Gerrard Cowan

The design and implementation of BMD systems are fuelled by the threat itself, according to a NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) official: “We believe that our system should be driven by the threat, so we should always be able to provide due protection and coverage against that threat as we foresee it,” he told AMR. This focus on the threat has guided the evolution of NATO’s own BMD capability, the official said. In 2010 NATO’s membership announced its intention to develop a territorial BMD capability covering NATO’s European area. The initial operational capability was declared in July 2016. NATO’s efforts in this regard has seen the advance of BMD technology in southern Europe, which is considered a particularly high-priority region; while the system is far from complete, there is now “a stronger capability to defend Alliance populations, territory and forces across southern Europe’s NATO membership against a potential ballistic missile attack,” according to the Alliance official.