American Physical Society publishes revised and updated report on US ballistic missile defense capabilities

The new report also corrects two technical errors in the original report

The American Physical Society has published a revised and updated report detailing the technical challenges of defending the United States against intercontinental ballistic missiles launched from North Korea. While the updated report corrects two technical errors identified after its original publication in February 2022, its finding remains unchanged — creating a reliable and effective ballistic missile defense against even a small number of relatively unsophisticated nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles remains a daunting challenge for the United States.

Three years ago, the Society’s Panel on Public Affairs — the committee that initiates and oversees policy-related technical reports — published the "Ballistic Missile Defense: Threats and Challenges" report. Eight independent experts reviewed the report before it was approved for publication by the Society’s Council. Three months later, two technical errors were identified in the section on boost-phase intercept systems. The Society promptly retracted the report, notified government officials and other interested parties of the errors, and initiated their correction.

Now, after revision and an extensive review process that included an additional expert who approved the accuracy of the revision and the Society’s editor in chief who approved the revision and review process, an updated report has been published. Given the time that has passed since the original report was published, the current report includes important updated assessments of North Korea’s nuclear weapons, long-range ballistic missiles, missile warheads, potential U.S. missile defense systems and technologies, and their implications. This process demonstrates the authors’ and the American Physical Society’s commitment to publishing accurate, transparent, and trustworthy research.