1 definition by Sam Stokes
The Nike missile family was named for the mythical Greek goddess of victory. The Nike was the world's first operational guided anti-aircraft missile system. Planning for Nike was begun in 1945 at the Bell Telephone Laboratories, the same outfit that built the nation's long distance telephone system. The Nike missile system was deployed around all major US cities from 1959 to 1974.
The Nike-Ajax for the first generation missile system. The Nike-Herucles was the second generation system.
by Sam Stokes December 5, 2004