Nike Hercules

American  

noun

1. a 40 feet (12 meters) U.S. surface-to-air missile effective at medium to high altitudes and having a range of more than 87 miles (140 kilometers).

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Etymology

Origin of Nike Hercules

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

But the Army was in the process of introducing a new and improved weapon: the Nike Hercules, each equipped with a nuclear warhead.

From Washington Post

In the wake of the New Jersey tragedy, the Army assured the public that elaborate precautions were taken in the design and handling of the Nike Hercules and that an accidental nuclear explosion was unlikely.

From Washington Post

Insider tip: At the former Nike Hercules Missile Site, relive a chilling period in U.S. history, when our country aimed missiles at Cuba during the Cold War.

From Washington Post

The Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge stands on a former Nike Hercules antiaircraft missile base, where launch crews stood ready to fire nuclear-armed missiles at Soviet bombers approaching Florida.

From Los Angeles Times

Keep going, and high up in the distance are the refurbished clamshell radar towers that were once part of the national Nike Hercules missile site system established at 145 locations in Alaska and the lower 48.

From Washington Times