Ballistic Missile Proliferation, 1950–89

This chapter examines the nature of the missile proliferation problem that confronted the Bush administration and Congress in January 1989. Attention is focused on how several developing countries acquired complete ballistic missile systems and/or the associated components, production technology and technical expertise from a limited number of primarily industrialised countries from the early 1950s to the late 1980s. The chapter complements Chapter 2, which examines the evolution of American missile nonproliferation policy prior to 1989. As missile proliferation came to be viewed with increasing concern in Washington from the early 1980s onwards, it was the dependence of developing countries on acquiring foreign assistance and technology that drove the Reagan administration to negotiate the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) to check the spread of nuclear-capable missiles. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.