The Russian Defence Ministry announced it had successfully tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile on Wednesday. The RS-28 Sarmat, often nicknamed “The Satan”, was one of the six new Russian strategic weapons first unveiled by Putin in 2018. The missile placed US missile defence capabilities under scrutiny, with many wondering whether it can protect NATO in the event of nuclear war.
The US began its Strategic Defense Initiative during the Cold War, back when fears of a Russian missile strike were at a peak.
The US military spent more than $200 billion (£157 billion) over the next four decades developing systems capable of targeting incoming missiles.
According to the US Defense Department’s independent testing office, the country’s missile defence systems have a “demonstrated capability” to protect the US against intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) threats.
The system consists of the following key components.
Ground-based interceptor missiles
Ground-Based Midcourse Defense is a key element protecting the country by intercepting incoming missiles in space.
The US missile defence agency claims that this system has had 11 successful intercepts in 19 tests.
The US has at least 44 ground-based interceptors deployed across the US.
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