The long-range, thermonuclear ballistic missile is an "ultimate" weapon in only one sense: defense against it is so difficult that it may prove impossible. But if adequate defense is ever achieved, missiles can learn new tricks and become "ultimate" again.
This month's Jet Propulsion is devoted to hypervelocity flight—the perilous maneuvers of futuristic vehicles flying at 10,000 m.p.h. and more in the thin, high fringe of the atmosphere. In the eyes of out-front rocket men, the ballistic missiles that dominate today's military dreams are pretty crude jobs, outmoded even before they are built....
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