missile gap

noun

1. a lag in one country's missile production relative to the production of another country.

Word History and Origins

Origin of missile gap¹

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

Those weapons, along with anti-ship missiles fielded in Okinawa by the new littoral regiments, could help close a growing missile gap with China, say experts.

From Reuters

Tokyo and Washington hope the more muscular military policy Kishida announced last month, a further move away from Japan's pacifist postwar constitution, will close a widening missile gap with China and deter Beijing from military action, particularly against neighbouring Taiwan.

From Reuters

Kennedy had been very narrowly elected on the promise to rectify the “missile gap” between the supposedly superior Soviet Union and weak old USA.

From Washington Post

But Americans nurtured their own conspiracy theories and hyped the Soviet threat, warning of a fictional “bomber gap” and “missile gap” and even a “muscle gap” — Soviet youth were supposedly more fit.

From Washington Post

Item No. 1 is that nuclear "missile gap," with its implications of an Armageddon lurking just around the corner.

From Salon