Theater Missile Defense (TMD), the deployment of nuclear and conventional missiles for the purpose of maintaining the security of a particular area or theater. The purpose of theater missile defense (TMD) is to protect allies from localized threats in their region or to address specific security issues and enable reliability in addressing specific threats.
TMD primarily refers to defensive ballistic missile systems. At the beginning of the 21st century, America Patriot missile, designed to intercept incoming missiles Systems that launch ballistic missiles before they hit their intended targets are the best known example of such systems. meanwhile, During the Persian Gulf War (1990-1991), the Patriot was employed by the Israeli and Saudi TMDs to counter the Iraqi threat. scud missile. (While initial evaluations suggested that Patriot missiles were highly effective, subsequent analysis cast doubt on how many missiles from Iraq were actually destroyed by Patriots.)
meanwhile, It is believed that the benefit of TMD during the Cold War was its ability to reduce the likelihood of global nuclear war, but that argument was (and still is) speculative. One of the premises of TMD is that a limited and winnable nuclear war is possible. That premise assumes the existence of an appropriate strategy to explain such results. Disarmament negotiations during the Cold War were said to have focused primarily on intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) reflects the recognized role of TMD in nuclear strategy. ICBMs, like medium ballistic missiles, differ in range rather than in destructive power, and therefore in strategic applicability.
Apart from ballistic missiles deployed on allied territory, tactical nuclear weapons were another element of theater strategy that was particularly important during the Cold War. Tactical nuclear weapons are designed to attack forces at close range, but do not have intercontinental range and may consist of long-range to battlefield nuclear weapons such as mines, bombs, and artillery shells. This aspect of TMD in Western Europe was a major concern throughout the Cold War, as the United States recognized the overwhelming superiority of Soviet ground forces.
A notable drawback of TMD’s reliance on tactical nuclear weapons is the need to install nuclear weapons on the territory of a foreign ally. Weapons could become visible targets for anti-nuclear demonstrators, as happened during the Cold War in Europe. Germany’s belief that East and West Germany would likely be ground zero in the event of a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union was a particular catalyst for anti-nuclear sentiment. With the end of the Cold War, the focus of theater defense shifted from Western Europe to other regions, and similar sentiments emerged there as well.
