Top scientists have warned that an area hit by an atomic missile of massive power would be engulfed in a suffocating fire storm which would persist for a long time.

This aircraft, which was planned for initial operational use about 1965, would be complementary to but likewise competitive with the four strategic ballistic missile systems, all of which are scheduled to become available earlier.

Because of this, it would appear inevitable that an increasing percentage of strategic missiles will seek self-protection in mobility -- at least until missile defenses are perfected which have an exceedingly high kill probability.

If our SAC bombers were, today, capable of surviving a surprise missile attack and because of infinite dispersion or long endurance had the capability to strike at Russia again, and again, and again, those bombers would unquestionably assure our military dominance.

It would be even more valuable because that same aircraft could immediately destroy any targets it discovered -- no need to wait for a missile to come all the way from the United States with the chance that the target, if it were mobile, would be gone.

Add also a comparatively primitive industrial plant which would severely limit our capacity to keep abreast of the Soviets even in the missile field which is reputed to be our main strength.

There would seem to be some small solace in the prospect that the missile race between nations is at the same time accelerating the study of the space around us, giving us a long-sought ladder from which to peer at alien regions.

In a secret detailed letter to the Soviet leadership of July 21, 1967, Sakharov explains the need to " take the Americans at their word " and accept their proposal " for a bilateral rejection by the USA and the Soviet Union of the development of antiballistic missile defense ", because otherwise an arms race in this new technology would increase the likelihood of nuclear war.

By the early 1960s, US research on the Nike Zeus missile system had developed to the point where small improvements would allow it to be used as the basis of a " real " ABM system.

Upgrading it to counter the additional warheads would be economically infeasible — the defenders required one rocket per incoming warhead, whereas the attackers could place 10 warheads on a single missile at a reasonable cost.

The weapon needed for interceptor aircraft, the Bendix AAM-N-10 Eagle, would be an air-to-air missile of unprecedented range when compared to contemporary AIM-7 Sparrow missiles.

The attacking ship would then fire an ASROC missile carrying an acoustic homing torpedo or a Nuclear Depth Bomb ( NDB ) onto an unguided ballistic trajectory toward the target.

In cases where the ASROC missile carried an NDB, the unguided bomb would sink quickly to a predetermined depth where it would detonate.

On launch the rocket engine's first chamber developing thrust would power the missile along a predetermined course to the target at around Mach 1. 5.

Once close to the target, the second chamber of the engine ( 6, 000 lb ) would accelerate the missile to Mach 3.

Over the target the engine would cut out and the missile would free-fall before detonating its warhead as an air burst.

Since the Persian force obviously contained a high proportion of missile troops, a static defensive position would have made little sense for the Athenians ; the strength of the hoplite was in the melee, and the sooner that could be brought about, the better, from the Athenian point of view.

A hypersonic cruise missile would travel at least 5 times the speed of sound.

The US announced that it would not permit offensive weapons to be delivered to Cuba and demanded that the Soviets dismantle the missile bases already under construction or completed in Cuba and remove all offensive weapons.

It is argued however that such missiles and arsenal ships pose no serious threat as they would be eliminated due to increasing improvement in ship defenses such as CEC ( cooperative engagement capability ), DEW technology and missile technology.

The infantry, including missile troops ( such as archers ), would typically be employed at the outset of the battle to break open infantry formations while the cavalry attempted to defeat its opposing number.

When an AMRAAM missile is being launched, NATO pilots use the brevity code-Fox Three.

In addition, the pilots of the Avro Vulcan or Handley Page Victor bombers could tie their systems into those of the missile and make use of the guidance system to help plot their own flight plan, since the unit in the missile was more advanced than that in the aircraft.

One of the key features of the first computer-controlled ICBM, the Minuteman missile, was that it could quickly and easily use its computer to test itself.

Strategic missile systems are thought to use custom integrated circuits designed to calculate navigational differential equations thousands to millions of times per second in order to reduce navigational errors caused by calculation alone.

The PRC has an extensive missile build-up near Taiwan and passed an Anti-Secession Law in 2005 threatening to use force.

The device was developed for use as part of the Germans ' Kehl radio control transmitter system used in certain German bomber aircraft, used to guide both the rocket-boosted anti-ship missile Henschel Hs 293, and the unpowered pioneering precision-guided munition Fritz-X, against maritime and other targets.

The Compact provided for aid and U. S. defense of the islands in exchange for continued U. S. military use of the missile testing range at Kwajalein Atoll.

The most common method is to use some form of radiation, such as infrared, lasers or radio waves, to guide the missile onto its target.

A number of anti-submarine missiles also exist ; these generally use the missile in order to deliver another weapon system such as a torpedo or depth charge to the location of the submarine, at which point the other weapon will conduct the underwater phase of the mission.

However these had a limited useful range of a 100 m or so, and the Germans were looking to extend this with the use of a missile using wire guidance, the X-7.

The Titan missile was also considered for use for later Mercury missions ; however, the Mercury program was terminated before these missions were flown.

As an approximation, the designers of radar systems for ballistic missiles, cruise missile, and antiship missiles used by the navies of NATO use as their equivalent of a nautical mile.

In return, the U. S. was given certain assurances by the United Kingdom regarding the use of the missile, however the U. S. does not have any veto on the use of British nuclear weapons.

Historical information is accumulated and used to predict future position for use with air traffic control, threat estimation, combat system doctrine, gun aiming, and missile guidance.

The Mysore rockets of this period were much more advanced than the British had previously seen, chiefly because of the use of iron tubes for holding the propellant ; this enabled higher thrust and longer range for the missile ( up to 2 km range ).

Technical criticism < ref > Bloembergen, N., Patel, C. K. N., Avizonis, P., Clem, Ro., and Hertzberg, A., " Report to the APS of the Study Group on Science and Technology of Directed Energy Weapons ," < cite > Reviews of Modern Physics, No. 3 </ cite >, Part II, July 1987 ; ISBN 9997342895 .</ ref > based upon unclassified calculations suggested that the X-ray laser would be of at best marginal use for missile defense .< ref > K.

The crisis deepens as the Soviets use a nuclear warhead, delivered by a surface-to-air missile, to destroy incoming American B-52 bombers attacking a Soviet-occupied airbase in Mashhad.

Neutron bombs could be used as strategic anti-ballistic missile weapons or as tactical weapons intended for use against armored forces.

China has recently developed the first and only anti-ship ballistic missile in the world, that combines a maneuverable reentry vehicle ( MaRV ) with a terminal guidance system, allowing them to adjust the flight path as they near their target, and are thought to be in use by the People's Liberation Army as of late 2010.

The AGM-114 Hellfire is an air-to-surface missile ( ASM ) developed primarily for anti-armor use.

The AGM-114 Hellfire is a combat-proven tactical missile system ; the missile has been in combat use since the mid-1980s.