MIM-14 Nike Hercules

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	Weapon: MIM-14 Nike Hercules Type: Surface-to-Air Missile Country of Origin: United States Year Adopted: 1958 Overall Length (mm): 12500.0 Overall Length (in): 492.13 Weight (kg): 4860.00 Weight (pounds): 10714.47

The MIM-14 Nike Hercules was a high-altitude, long-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) developed by the United States during the Cold War as the successor to the Nike Ajax. Designed by Bell Laboratories and Western Electric, the Nike Hercules addressed the shortcomings of its predecessor by eliminating hazardous liquid fuel in favor of solid-propellant motors and by providing much greater range and altitude performance. It was capable of carrying either a large conventional fragmentation warhead or a nuclear warhead, making it effective not only against bomber formations but also as a limited anti-ballistic missile system.

Production of the Nike Hercules began in the mid-1950s, with thousands of missiles manufactured and deployed across hundreds of sites in the United States, Europe, and Asia. It entered service in 1958 and rapidly became the backbone of NATO's air defense strategy, providing coverage against mass Soviet bomber raids and emerging ballistic missile threats. The missile was also exported to U.S. allies including Greece, Italy, South Korea, and Turkey, where it remained in service for decades. Some nations continued to operate upgraded versions into the early 21st century.

The Nike Hercules gained notoriety for its nuclear capability, a controversial feature that underscored the escalating intensity of the Cold War. While it was never fired in combat, it served as a powerful deterrent and demonstrated U.S. advancements in missile defense technology. By the 1970s and 1980s, improvements in intercontinental ballistic missile technology and the introduction of more advanced SAMs, such as the Patriot system, rendered the Nike Hercules obsolete. Nevertheless, its long service life and worldwide deployment marked it as one of the most significant missile systems of the Cold War era.