BOMARC MISSILE

The CIM-10 Bomarc is an American air-to-air guided missile from the Cold War period. Its first prototypes appeared in the mid-1950s, and serial production started in 1958. In the basic version, the CIM-10 had a range of 320 kilometers and could ascend to 18,000 meters. Its maximum speed was up to 2.8 Ma. The length of the missile was 14.2 meters. The missile could carry a conventional warhead weighing up to 450 kilograms or a W40 nuclear warhead with a power of 7-10 kilotons. The CIM-10 missile was one of the most important parts of the BOMARC program, which was a joint US-Canadian project initiated in the 1950s. The program was designed to keep both countries safe from attacks by Soviet nuclear-armed long-range bombers. Thus, the new missiles, the CIM-10, were to have as large a flight range as possible, and their positions were primarily located on both coasts of North America. Interestingly, the CIM-10 was initially designed as an unmanned fighter aircraft, but quickly changed its purpose. Both countries (USA and Canada) completed the project in the late 1960s when it became clear that the USSR was going to launch a possible strategic nuclear attack using ballistic missiles against which the CIM-10 missiles would be completely ineffective.