The first AIM-9 Sidewinder heat seeking air to air missile launched from an USAF aircraft is fired by Capt. Joe Gordon, flying a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. Sidewinder, originally developed by the Navy in 1953 but modernized regularly since, will still be both services’ primary short range missile until well after the turn of the century.
America faces the most severe security environment seen since World War II, and U.S. military leaders are working aggressively to develop new strategies, operational concepts, and technologies in response. As these efforts advance, it is imperative that new ideas and...