The Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty of 1972 ______________?

The correct answer is Option (2) → Allowed United States and Soviet Union to deploy a very limited number of defensive systems.

Option (1) Allowed United States and Soviet Union to use ballistic missiles as a defensive shield to launch nuclear attack. — Incorrect. The treaty tried to stop them from doing this.

Option (2) Allowed United States and Soviet Union to deploy a very limited number of defensive systems. — Correct. The ABM Treaty was an arms control treaty, one that regulates the acquisition or development of weapons rather than banning them. It allowed both countries to deploy a very limited number of defensive systems.

Option (3) Allowed United States and Soviet Union to produce defensive systems in large scale. — Incorrect. It stopped them from large-scale production of those systems.

Option (4) Allowed United States and Soviet Union keep their defensive systems produced till 1971. — Incorrect. The treaty did not freeze the systems built up to a date; it limited the number of defensive systems each side could deploy and stopped their large-scale production.