High Frontier was a private company that promoted space-based strategic defense against nuclear ICBMs. It was founded by Daniel O. Graham, a retired lieutenant general in the U.S. Army who is often called the “father of SDI”. This film promotes Graham’s initiative: a kinetic-energy weapon that could take out Soviet ICBMs as they flew towards the USA. It seemed plausible enough, but eventually the SDI plan diverged from High Frontier. The final SDI plan as put forward by Reagan’s team relied on directed energy technologies such as lasers and particle beams to achieve shoot-downs, and even then it proved so challenging as to never be deployed.
The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983, to use ground-based and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by ballistic strategic nuclear weapons (Intercontinental ballistic missiles and Submarine-launched ballistic missiles). The initiative focused on strategic defense rather than the prior strategic offense doctrine of Mutual assured destruction (MAD). The Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) was set up in 1984 within the United States Department of Defense to oversee the Strategic Defense Initiative.
Reagan was a vocal critic of Mutual Assured Destruction, and the Strategic Defense Initiative was an important part of his defense policy intended to end MAD as a nuclear deterrence strategy, as well as a strategic initiative to neutralize the military component of Soviet nuclear defenses.
The ambitious initiative was widely criticized as being unrealistic, even unscientific, as well as for threatening to destabilize MAD and re-ignite “an offensive arms race”. SDI was derided, largely in the mainstream media, as “Star Wars”, after the popular 1977 film by George Lucas. In 1987, the American Physical Society concluded that a global shield such as “Star Wars” was not only impossible with existing technology, but that ten more years of research was needed to learn whether it might ever be feasible.
However, the United States now holds a significant advantage in the field of comprehensive advanced missile defense systems through years of extensive research and testing. Many of the obtained technological insights were transferred to subsequent programs and would find use in follow-up programs.
Under the administration of President Bill Clinton in 1993, its name was changed to the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) and its emphasis was shifted from national missile defense to theater missile defense; and its scope from global to more regional coverage. It was never truly developed or deployed, though certain aspects of SDI research and technologies paved the way for some anti-ballistic missile systems of today. BMDO was renamed to the Missile Defense Agency in 2002.
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2K. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
