Missile Defense Systems by Country 2024

In today’s world, the threat of having a missile shot at your country is quite high. As such, many countries have developed and implemented missile defense systems to protect their people.

What Are Missile Defense Systems?

A missile defense system is any sort of technology or system that detects, intercepts or tracks attacking missiles. Since most developed countries have missile weapons options, these defense systems are vital to protecting the safety and security of the country. Today, many countries have these defense systems, including the United States, United Kingdom, China, France, India, Iran, Italy, Israel, Taiwan and Russia.

What Types of Missile Defense Systems are There?

There are different types of missile defense systems based on the type of missile they defend against, when in the trajectory the interception occurs, and whether or not the interception happens inside the atmosphere. Some common systems based on the type of missile they intercept include:

1. Strategic: These systems travel long-range ICBM missiles and are found in Russia and the United States.

2. Theater: These target medium-range missiles and are found in Israel, America, and Russia.

3. Tactical: Both America and Russia have tactical systems that target tactical ballistic missiles.

Which Country Has the Best Option?

Currently, there are only five countries that can hit any part of the globe with a missile. These are Russia, the United States, China, Britain and France. North Korea is working to increase the range of its missiles but is not quite at global capacity. However, measuring missile defense is more challenging. Most countries have only tested these systems, not actually used them in a real scenario, and many countries are not transparent with their test data. Russia claims to have the strongest system, but it does not publish information on its tests. The United States is quite transparent about its tests when compared to other countries, but it also have few details available. Most likely, either Russia or the United States has the strongest defense, but the Russian systems are old and the United States has the most updated systems available.