Nike Ajax

Nike Ajax
A Nike Ajax in firing position.
Type	Surface-to-air missile
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1954–1970
Used by	US Army, allies
Production history
Manufacturer	Bell Labs, Douglas Aircraft
Unit cost	$19,300 (flyaway, 1958), $61,000 total
Produced	1952
Specifications
Weight	32,259 lb (14.6 t) total, 31,051 lb (14.1 t) sustainer, 1,208 lb (0.5 t) booster
Length	32 ft 8 in (9.96 m) overall, 20 ft 11 in (6.38 m) sustainer, 13 ft 2 in (4.01 m) booster
Diameter	14.6 in (0.37 m) sustainer, 16.2 in (0.41 m) booster
Detonation mechanism	radio command
Engine	Solid rocket booster, liquid fuel sustainer 48,000–59,000 lbf (210–260 kN) booster, 2,600 lbf (12 kN) sustainer
Wingspan	50 in (1.3 m) sustainer, 76 in (1.9 m) booster
Propellant	JP-4 and RFNA/UDMH (sustainer)
Operational range	30 mi (48 km)
Flight ceiling	70,000 ft (21,000 m)
Speed	Mach 2.25 (1,710 mph; 2,760 km/h) (@ 50k ft)
Guidance system	command guidance
Launch platform	fixed erector/launchers

The United States Army's Nike Ajax was the world's first operational surface-to-air missile (SAM), entering service in 1954. Nike Ajax was designed to attack conventional bomber aircraft flying at high subsonic speeds and altitudes above 50,000 feet (15 km). Nike was initially deployed in the US to provide defence against Soviet bomber attacks, and was later deployed overseas to protect US bases, as well as being sold to various allied forces. Some examples remained in use until the 1970s.

Technological development during the 1950s quickly rendered Nike obsolete. It was unable to defend against more capable bombers or multiple targets in formation, and had relatively short range. Even while Nike was being deployed, these concerns led to the contracts for the greatly improved MIM-14 Nike Hercules, which began deployment in 1959. As Hercules developed, the threat moved from bombers to ICBMs, and the LIM-49 Nike Zeus anti-ballistic missile project started to address these. All of the Nike projects were led by Bell Labs, due to their early work in radar guidance systems during World War II.

Originally known simply as Nike, it gained the Ajax as part of a 1956 renaming effort that resulted from the introduction of Hercules. It was initially given the identifier SAM-A-7 (Surface-to-air, Army, design 7) as part of an early tri-service identification system, but later changed to MIM-3 (Mobile Interceptor Missile, design 3) in 1962.

Part of the Nike Ajax development program designed a new solid fuel rocket motor used for the missile's booster. This had originally been designed for the US Navy's missiles, and was enlarged for the Nike efforts. The rocket was so useful that it found numerous applications outside the military world as the Ajax missiles were decommissioned in the 1960s. Many sounding rockets used the booster as their first or second stage, and many of those used "Nike" in their name.