Quote:
Originally Posted by spdrun
I assumed that armed fighters are on alert since 9/11. AFAIK, the Nike rockets were removed from the 60s to the late 70s. They were simply considered ineffective against faster bombers (probably could hit a Tu-95 "Bear" and ICBMs).
I used to live about a mile from a former Nike base in NJ and it was decommissioned before I was born. |
Yes they were decommissioned domestically in the sixties and seventies. The deficiency of the system was not lack of speed. It topped mach 2 before it even cleared the launcher. Mechanically and aerodynamically it was fabulous. Its effectiveness declined due to the control layout. It was easily jammed and the old tube type western electric systems were obsolete.
Problem is, they didn't upgrade it or replace it with anything.