Abstract : Since the end of the Cold War, a considerable cause for concern has been the potential loss of accountability of nuclear/chemical weapons, missiles, and associated technologies and materials in former Soviet states. This state of affairs has induced a reevaluation of the strategic, operational, and tactical postures of the armed forces to deal with the broad array of threats to our security. Of these threats, the possibility of a large-scale conventional bomb/missile, nuclear, or chemical/biological attack on the homeland, our national interests abroad, or deployed forces rank high. Ultimately, this is because 1) such weapons have the potential to inflict mass destruction on several levels; 2) obtaining these weapons, or the materials necessary to fabricate them, has become relatively easy; and 3) the asymmetric nature and radical idealism of the enemies who oppose our interests increases the level of uncertainty. - A critical aspect of these threats is the manner in which our enemies could employ them. One that interests the Army's Aviation & Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) is the use of ballistic missiles as a delivery platform. Accordingly, this organization has expanded its research of ballistic missile defense to include analysis of emerging technologies as viable military options. Pursuant to that end, AMRDEC chartered the Department of Systems Engineering at West Point to conduct a feasibility study of the use of SCRAMJET and other kinetic energy-based technologies for military purposes, with a particular emphasis on missile defense.