Missile Defense As hypersonic missiles, cruise missiles, and unmanned aircraft systems become increasingly common on the battlefield, focusing on the full spectrum of missile threats is crucial, especially as the missile threat from China and Russia grows. CSIS research seeks innovative means to counter the full spectrum of global missile threats.
The Missile Defense Project at CSIS looks at a wide range of policy, program, and strategic issues related to missile defense. Technological and geopolitical factors have driven increased global supply and demand for high-velocity, unmanned, missile-based weapons and their corresponding counters.
Nuclear-powered cruise missiles are not a new idea—they’re just a bad idea. While Russia’s Burevestnik missile is grabbing headlines, it does not fundamentally change Russia’s ability to hold the U.S. homeland at risk or the strategic balance between the two states.
The proliferation of missile threats has made air and missile defense interceptors the table stakes for entry into future conflicts, forcing the Department of Defense to either ante up and buy the necessary interceptors, or fold on its regional interests and bear the consequences.
To help navigate the wide world of missilery, the CSIS Missile Defense Project recently released a newly upgraded website to track and explain both missile threats and missile defenses alike.
Key Concept: Firepower Strike Firepower strikes are an emerging concept that cuts across multiple states. They involve large, combined attacks by air/land/sea launched cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and attack drones – often supported by a larger array of information effects – used to attack military and/or civilian targets. In Russian doctrine, there is a concept called noncontact ...