ALERT! Defense in the Missile Age

[bell] [music] [music] [music] [music] This is an American community. In most ways, it is just like other American communities. It has its stores, electric and heating plants, workshops, and recreation areas, its schools, and churches. Yes, in many ways, it's very similar to your neighborhood. The main difference is that this is a Nike missile community. Missilemen of the Army Air Defense Command are members of this community. They live here, send their children to the local schools, and attend the churches and are respected members of the local. But the Nike community is different in its own ways. The single purpose of the community's Army Air Defense Nike [music] site is to guard against an air attack from a potential enemy around the clock, 365 days a year. While many of the Nike operations are performed mainly by electronics and other semi-automatic equipment, it takes the human element, the soldier of the Army Air Defense Command, to perform some of these vital functions. The radars, which continually pierce the sky in all weather, must be manned 24 hours a day, and they constantly scan the skies for a target which the Army missilemen, although combat ready, hope will never come. There are many Nike communities throughout the nation. These towns are peaceful, but the residents know that we live in a world of tensions, of cold wars and brush wars. [music] And to be ready for any eventuality, the Nike missilemen of these communities must always be on the alert. At any hour of the day or night, the alert siren [music] may wail its mournful tune. To asssure constant readiness, exercises are held without warning at these missile sites. The missilemen perform battle duties just as though an attack were underway, except for firing the missiles. The longrange acquisition radar has picked up a target. Of course, it is threatened, but for the purposes of this test exercise, it [music] is classed as an enemy aircraft. Word is immediately and automatically flashed to the target tracking radar system, which sends radar data to the computers, which in turn computes the target speed, altitude, [music] and certain other information. This information is made available in microsconds to the battery control officer in the operation center. With this displayed information at his fingertips, the battery control officer can select a launch ready missile to counter the attack. Since this intruder is a single aircraft, the control officer has selected one missile for simulated firing. The horn sounds, alerting the missile crews to complete their final preparations. Safety pins and warning flags are taken out. Control surface clamps are removed, and the ready signal is passed to the crew chief. At the ready signal, the missile crew rushes into their underground shelter to protect them from the searing blast of the rocket motors, which would be felt if the missile were fired. The crew chief releases the missile to the battery control officer as ready to be fired. After the missile is declared ready for firing, the intercept information plotted on the display board by the computers provides the battery control officer with the proper time to fire the missile. The practice alert stops when the battery control officer pushes the button that would fire the missile. However, if this were an actual attack on the United States, as soon as the firing button is pushed, here is what would happen. With a tremendous blast of the four rocket motors, the Nike Hercules would be airborne and on its way to destroy the target. In flight, the missile receives steering orders from the computer, which compensates for any changes in target flight by directing the intercept missile into a recomputed trajectory. Highly evasive flight by the target makes no difference to the Nike radar system since it can detect and change the missile trajectory immediately. When the missile is within destruct range, the computer gives the command for detonation of the missile [music] and the target would be destroyed. The Nike Hercules is truly an all-w weather weapon. Army Air Defense Command uses [music] this weapon as far north as Tuli Greenland above the Arctic Circle as well as the warmer climates of the southern United States. and test exercises such as you have seen are constantly being [music] conducted. In the event it became necessary to actually use these missiles in the defense of our nation, the men and equipment of the United States Army Air Defense Command, [music] the Army component of the North American Air Defense Command, are combat ready and equal to [music] the task.