Nike, Guided Missile Air Defence System

The "Nike" system was as the first operational surface-to-air guided missile a pioneer and was meant to provide air-defence against fast high-flying bombers.

"Western Electric" became the prime contractor for the development of the "XSAM-G-7 Nike missile" system.

The "Nike" system used a command guidance system. An acquisition radar called LOPAR (Low-Power Acquisition Radar) picked up potential targets at long range, and the information on hostile targets was then transferred to the TTR (Target Tracking Radar). An adjacent MTR (Missile Tracking Radar) tracked the flight path of the Nike Ajax missile. Using tracking data of the TTR and MTR, a computer calculated the interception trajectory, and sent appropriate course correction commands to the missile. The three high-explosive fragmentation warheads of the missile (in nose, center, and aft section) were detonated by ground command, when the paths of target and missile met.

The first missiles were the "Nike Ajax", soon replaced by the "Nike Hercules" with significantly higher performance and nuclear capability.

The first production Nike (which had been redesignated SAM-A-7 in 1951) flew in 1952, and the first operational Nike site was activated in 1954. By this time, the missile had been designated by the Army as Guided Missile, Anti-Aircraft M1.