Universal Intelligence

Some Americans worry about the likelihood of nuclear warfare and whether the United States is at a disadvantage. However, there are significant similarities when comparing the number of foreign military bases that the United States has to that of the colonial British Empire. With 750 known unclassified foreign military bases, one could argue that the United States is indeed an empire on which the sun never sets now. When accounting for collection sites, embassies, sensitive locations, classified installations, and domestic bases or facilities, it is essential to recognize that the U.S. presence far surpasses the reported 750 facilities. Due to the large military apparatus, the United States has a defensive shield that detects and tracks any threat. It is crucial to acknowledge that the air defense system of the United States is unmatched and highly integrated.  

The United States boasts a myriad of missile defense systems, ensuring an abundance of interception points and the capability to easily thwart any ballistic missile threat. The most significant and highly effective missile defense system is the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD). The United States possesses a distinct advantage over its adversaries thanks to the GMD, an exceptional operational weapon system. Russia’s decision not to renew the STRAT treaty with the U.S. can be partly attributed to the GMD’s ground-based system that uses new technology, albeit at a considerable cost. It operates in defense silos currently deployed in Alaska, Hawaii, and California, eventually expanding to the eastern seaboard. The GMD stands as the sole operational system in the world capable of protecting an entire nation against ballistic threats. Adversaries and experts have suggested that the GMD has effectively tipped the balance of nuclear power in favor of the United States. This is because the United States possesses a method to guarantee the nation’s safeguard against any ballistic threat.

The AEGIS Ballistic Missile Defense System (AEGIS) remains a dependable ship-based defense mechanism against ballistic missiles. As a ballistic missile defense system, it has already been deployed extensively throughout the United States and NATO destroyers, cruisers, and frigates. This intelligent and reliable system offers quick interception of ballistic threats in their post-boost and before the reentry phase. AEGIS systems seamlessly communicate with each other, sharing crucial ballistic threat data. In fact, a destroyer equipped with an AEGIS system can transmit information about a potential threat to another destroyer better equipped to handle the situation easily. The paramount importance of the AEGIS system is the ability to be a highly mobile ballistic defense system that is hard for any adversary to track and neutralize. This again adds another layer of redundancy in the deterrence approach to nuclear warfare to make an adversary reluctant to use nuclear weapons because they cannot guarantee a positive hit against the United States.

The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system is highly effective and can engage hypersonic threats. As such, it is a powerful defense mechanism. THAAD utilizes its hit-to-kill system that relies on its kinetic energy to engage ballistic missile threats in their terminal phase. Additionally, the radar used by THAAD has been labeled as intrusive, resulting in several complaints from China following its implementation in South Korea. These three systems mentioned effectively neutralize any potential nuclear danger from an opposing force.  

An older system yet effective is the Patriot Missile, a surface-to-air missile system (SAM), which is a formidable defense against ballistic missile threats possessed by the United States. Despite being an older system, it stands shoulder-to-shoulder with THAAD regarding capability. Whereas THAAD is a new system still being deployed, the Patriot Missile system is tried and tested. It is currently engaged in ballistic missile defense in Ukraine, hallmarked by its successful engagement of the Russian hypersonic missile, Kinzhal.

The United States has a multilayered defense system against ballistic missiles, with specialized systems for different methods of defeat. It’s notable that the GMD has never failed in testing.

Recent reports indicate that the United States has successfully revitalized its space-based defense systems from the cold war era. This momentous achievement was made possible by establishing the Space Force military branch in 2019. The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program responsible for this incredible feat has been reactivated under the Space Development Agency (SDA), further solidifying the United States’ dominance in space defense. The program under the SDA is dubbed SDI II for its second iteration from the cold war era, which would allow for mere instant detection and interception of any threat. SDI II aims to counter the latest ballistic missile threats that employ highly mobile hypersonic missiles. Although still in its early developmental phase, it’s evident that the United States has a leading edge in missile defense. It can be argued that a space-based defense system would shift the nuclear balance more towards the United States, as it allows for instant detection, tracking, and neutralization of any Earth-based threat.

_{(Re-assessed 29 August 2023, final publication.)}

^{(Initial assessment 31 July 2023.)}