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The end of missiles and guns: Why did surface-to-air missiles replace traditional air defense weapons?
Since World War II, the rapid rise of surface-to-air missiles has marked the arrival of a new era of air defense. In today's military world, surface-to-air missiles (SAM) have become the backbone of air defense forces and have gradually replaced traditional air defense artillery. What are the reasons behind this phenomenon?
Traditional anti-aircraft countermeasures, such as anti-aircraft guns, experienced significant challenges, especially against attack aircraft with ever-increasing speeds and altitudes. Even during World War II, major powers began to realize that artillery was unable to effectively deal with fast-flying fighters and bombers because the artillery's killing radius was small and the efficiency of the number of firing rounds was limited. In this case, the need to focus on the development of missiles gradually increased.
With the advancement of science and technology, modern surface-to-air missiles have higher accuracy and longer range, which has gradually squeezed traditional anti-aircraft artillery to the edge of short-range missions.
The development history of missiles
As early as 1925, the preliminary concept of the missile was proposed, and subsequent development was deepened during World War II. Various German and Allied experiments resulted in early missile designs. Among them, Nike Ajax was the first officially used surface-to-air missile system in the United States, while the Soviet Union's S-75 Dvina became the most mass-produced system, further promoting the maturity of missile technology.
Even after the war, countries around the world were committed to the development of SAM technology. The air defense systems of several countries entered service in the early 1950s and demonstrated their effectiveness in subsequent military conflicts.
The impact of the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War can be regarded as the first modern warfare application experiment of surface-to-air missiles. American mechanized fighter jets faced the North Vietnamese S-75 missile system supported by Soviet technology. The existence of this system has changed the rules of air combat, forcing the US military to change its combat strategy and adopt low-altitude flight to avoid missile pursuit.
Many high-altitude bombers that were once fearless in attacks have become cautious under the threat of missiles, which fully demonstrates the power of SAM.
The decline of guns and the rise of missiles
In contrast to the gradual rise of missiles, traditional anti-aircraft artillery has been unable to adapt to the needs of modern warfare due to its limitations such as low accuracy and slow response speed. Technically, while anti-aircraft artillery still exists, most have been reconfigured to specifically deal with short-range threats such as small drones or cruise missiles.
Experts pointed out that with the advancement of millimeter-wave radar, homing heads and computer computing technology, the performance of modern SAM systems has been greatly improved, significantly enhancing the ability to deal with high-altitude targets.
Future air defense challenges
From the Cold War to the present, air defense technology. However, future air defense challenges will become more complex with the emergence of new drones and a variety of new air-to-ground weapons. This will necessitate constant adjustments in the tactics and techniques of all air defense forces to maintain their effectiveness.
Perhaps in the near future, the role and function of surface-to-air missiles will be redefined again, and its impact on military strategy cannot be underestimated.
As local air-to-air missiles continue to evolve to combat new threats, how will traditional air defense weapons adapt to this change in the future?
