One of the United States' most challenging security threats of the 21st century is a possible ballistic missile attack. Whether it is armed conventionally or with a weapon of mass destruction, a ballistic missile attack on the U.S. would have a horrific outcome. To counter this, threat the U.S. has been researching and developing missile defenses since the end of WWII. Today, ballistic missile defenses have achieved great technological achievements but are not applied appropriately to counter the changing security threats. I choose this topic because I am commissioning into the U.S. Army in May 2011 as an Air Defense Artillery (ADA) Officer. I believe as an ADA Officer it is important to understand missile defense and how it will affect not only my future, but the entire international community. In order to understand it, it was important to cover the history of missile defines, current administration's policies, and all the systems and future challenges. From my research on missile defenses through modern government agencies and other sources, it became clear that the U.S. lacks the proper defensive ability to protect the U.S. homeland, allies and troops abroad.
","abstract_html":"<p>One of the United States' most challenging security threats of the 21st century is a possible ballistic missile attack. Whether it is armed conventionally or with a weapon of mass destruction, a ballistic missile attack on the U.S. would have a horrific outcome. To counter this, threat the U.S. has been researching and developing missile defenses since the end of WWII. Today, ballistic missile defenses have achieved great technological achievements but are not applied appropriately to counter the changing security threats. I choose this topic because I am commissioning into the U.S. Army in May 2011 as an Air Defense Artillery (ADA) Officer. I believe as an ADA Officer it is important to understand missile defense and how it will affect not only my future, but the entire international community. In order to understand it, it was important to cover the history of missile defines, current administration's policies, and all the systems and future challenges. From my research on missile defenses through modern government agencies and other sources, it became clear that the U.S. lacks the proper defensive ability to protect the U.S. homeland, allies and troops abroad.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Ziongas, Thomas Christos"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Defense and Strategic Studies","degree_level":"Masters","degree_discipline":"Defense and Strategic Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Keith Payne"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:16:37Z","subjects":["ballistic missile defense","BMD","phased adaptive approach","MDA","ballistic missile","Defense and Security Studies"],"languages":[],"rights":["© Thomas Christos Ziongas"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1474","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Keith Payne"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Ziongas, Thomas Christos"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Defense and Strategic Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Defense and Strategic Studies"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["ballistic missile defense","BMD","phased adaptive approach","MDA","ballistic missile","Defense and Security Studies"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© Thomas Christos Ziongas"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1474"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["One of the United States' most challenging security threats of the 21st century is a possible ballistic missile attack. Whether it is armed conventionally or with a weapon of mass destruction, a ballistic missile attack on the U.S. would have a horrific outcome. To counter this, threat the U.S. has been researching and developing missile defenses since the end of WWII. Today, ballistic missile defenses have achieved great technological achievements but are not applied appropriately to counter the changing security threats. I choose this topic because I am commissioning into the U.S. Army in May 2011 as an Air Defense Artillery (ADA) Officer. I believe as an ADA Officer it is important to understand missile defense and how it will affect not only my future, but the entire international community. In order to understand it, it was important to cover the history of missile defines, current administration's policies, and all the systems and future challenges. From my research on missile defenses through modern government agencies and other sources, it became clear that the U.S. lacks the proper defensive ability to protect the U.S. homeland, allies and troops abroad.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["On Geopolitically Tailoring Missile Defense"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Keith Payne"],"dc:creator":["Ziongas, Thomas Christos"],"dc:description.abstract":["One of the United States' most challenging security threats of the 21st century is a possible ballistic missile attack. Whether it is armed conventionally or with a weapon of mass destruction, a ballistic missile attack on the U.S. would have a horrific outcome. To counter this, threat the U.S. has been researching and developing missile defenses since the end of WWII. Today, ballistic missile defenses have achieved great technological achievements but are not applied appropriately to counter the changing security threats. I choose this topic because I am commissioning into the U.S. Army in May 2011 as an Air Defense Artillery (ADA) Officer. I believe as an ADA Officer it is important to understand missile defense and how it will affect not only my future, but the entire international community. In order to understand it, it was important to cover the history of missile defines, current administration's policies, and all the systems and future challenges. From my research on missile defenses through modern government agencies and other sources, it became clear that the U.S. lacks the proper defensive ability to protect the U.S. homeland, allies and troops abroad.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1474"],"dc:rights":["© Thomas Christos Ziongas"],"dc:subject":["ballistic missile defense","BMD","phased adaptive approach","MDA","ballistic missile","Defense and Security Studies"],"dc:title":["On Geopolitically Tailoring Missile Defense"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Defense and Strategic Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Defense and Strategic Studies"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:16:37Z"}