It was the same R-7 launch vehicle that placed the first artificial satellite in space, Sputnik, on 4 October 1957. The first strategic-missile unit became operational on 9 February 1959 at Plesetsk in north-west Russia. The first successful test followed on 21 August 1957 the R-7 flew over 6,000 km (3,700 mi) and became the world's first ICBM. The first launch took place on and led to an unintended crash 400 km (250 mi) from the site. Given steady funding throughout, the R-7 developed with some speed. That changed in 1953, when Sergei Korolyov was directed to start development of a true ICBM able to deliver newly developed hydrogen bombs. In the Soviet Union, early development was focused on missiles able to attack European targets. In the Soviet Union, rocket research was centrally organized although several teams worked on different designs. Each branch of the US military started its own programs, leading to considerable duplication of effort. Cold War Īfter World War II, the Americans and the Soviets started rocket research programs based on the V-2 and other German wartime designs. Someday, not too distant, there can come streaking out of somewhere – we won't be able to hear it, it will come so fast – some kind of gadget with an explosive so powerful that one projectile will be able to wipe out completely this city of Washington. This technology was predicted by US Army General Hap Arnold, who wrote in 1943: The second stage of the A9/A10 rocket was tested a few times in January and February 1945.Īfter the war, the US executed Operation Paperclip, which took von Braun and hundreds of other leading Nazi scientists to the United States to develop IRBMs, ICBMs, and launchers for the US Army. Initially intended to be guided by radio, it was changed to be a piloted craft after the failure of Operation Elster. Under Projekt Amerika, von Braun's team developed the A9/10 ICBM, intended for use in bombing New York and other American cities. The liquid-fueled V-2, designed by Wernher von Braun and his team, was widely used by Nazi Germany from mid-1944 until March 1945 to bomb British and Belgian cities, particularly Antwerp and London. The first practical design for an ICBM grew out of Nazi Germany's V-2 rocket program. History World War II Primary views of an R-7 Semyorka, the world's first ICBM and satellite launch vehicle ICBMs are differentiated by having greater range and speed than other ballistic missiles: intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs), medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs), short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) and tactical ballistic missiles (TBMs). Second- and third-generation designs (such as the LGM-118 Peacekeeper) dramatically improved accuracy to the point where even the smallest point targets can be successfully attacked. Attacks against military targets (especially hardened ones) demanded the use of a more precise, manned bomber. They were seen as a "safe" basing option, one that would keep the deterrent force close to home where it would be difficult to attack. The United States, Russia, China, France, India, the United Kingdom, Israel, North Korea and Iran are the only countries known to have operational ICBMs.Įarly ICBMs had limited precision, which made them suitable for use only against the largest targets, such as cities. Most modern designs support multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRVs), allowing a single missile to carry several warheads, each of which can strike a different target. Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons can also be delivered with varying effectiveness, but have never been deployed on ICBMs. For other uses, see ICBM (disambiguation).Ī US Peacekeeper missile launched from a silo Minuteman III launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, United States of America on 9 February 2023.Īn intercontinental ballistic missile ( ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than 5,500 kilometres (3,400 mi), primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads).
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