India and Missile Defense analyzes the factors that have motivated India's shift from its traditional opposition to strategic defenses to its current consideration of missile defense as part of a national deterrent.

The book describes the evolution of Indian attitudes to missile defense over the years and views about the desirability of these systems in the context of the threat environment facing the country. Ashley Tellis elaborates on the challenges facing India in its quest for effective strategic defense and assesses whether Washington should support New Delhi in this regard, and if so, how, and with what consequences.