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ABM

(Encyclopedia)ABM: see guided missile.

MIRV

(Encyclopedia)MIRV: see guided missile.

cruiser

(Encyclopedia)cruiser, large, fast, moderately armed warship, intermediate in type between the aircraft carrier and the destroyer. During World War II, battle cruisers operated as small battleships, combining in on...

Kalam, A. P. J. Abdul

(Encyclopedia)Kalam, A. P. J. Abdul (Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam), 1921–2015, Indian scientist and political leader, studied St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli (grad. 1954), Madras Institute of Technol...

smart weapon

(Encyclopedia)smart weapon, missile or steerable bomb equipped with a laser, television, or satellite guidance system. Smart weapons, which use guidance systems that rely on external assistance, are distinguished f...

Cuban Missile Crisis

(Encyclopedia)Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962, major cold war confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. In response to the Bay of Pigs Invasion and other American actions against Cuba as well as to P...

Strategic Defense Initiative

(Encyclopedia)Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), former U.S. government program responsible for research and development of a space-based system to defend the nation from attack by strategic ballistic missiles (se...

drone

(Encyclopedia)drone or remotely piloted vehicle, a pilotless craft guided by remote control. Aircraft, ships, and land vehicles can be designed or outfitted as drones. Underwater vessels—both piloted and pilotles...

Minuteman Missile National Historic Site

(Encyclopedia)Minuteman Missile National Historic Site: see National Parks and Monuments (table)national parks and monuments (table). ...

Cape Canaveral

(Encyclopedia)Cape Canaveral kənăvˈərəl [key], low, sandy promontory extending E into the Atlantic Ocean from a barrier island, E Fla., separated from Merritt Island by the Banana River, a lagoon; named (1963)...