The Influence of History

RIM-8 Talos Today guided missiles are an integral part of the United States Navy and warships armed with the Aegis combat system are considered the pinnacle of surface combatant development. However, unlike most new weapons systems, the naval guided missile was not the result of incremental advances over time. Instead, it was the result a decade long project designed to create the theoretical weapon that was deemed necessary to counter an emerging threat. The First Naval Missiles While rockets have been a part of warfare for centuries (British ship-launched Congreve rockets are immortalized in the American national anthem), they had always been inaccurate ballistic devices that were clearly inferior to guns. This changed with the introduction of aircraft and the development of radio at the end of the 19th century. Suddenly it became possible to construct a missile (not necessarily a rocket) that could not only change course in flight, but receive targeting information and cour...