IGY and space flight information

Higher, Faster, Farther Missile. Existence of a new supersonic air-to-air guided missile which climbs higher, flies faster, and has a greater range than any of its predecessors, was announced recently by the U.S. Air Force and Hughes Aircraft Company, its developer and producer. Fourth in the family of Falcon missiles produced by the company, the new GAR-3 (guided air rocket) is scheduled to go into operational service as principal firepower of advanced all-weather jet interceptors of the Air Defense Command. One of the principal differences between the new Falcon and other models is a distinctive white ceramic nose cone, longer, and more pointed than the stubby, rounded radomes of earlier “birds.” According to company engineers, the nose cone represents a significant development of a material capable of withstanding a great variety of environments created by both speed and temperature and enables the Falcon to adjust to these environments in fractions of seconds. Other external changes in the GAR-3 include its greater length (slightly over 7 feet), increased wing span, an extension of stabilizers so that they reach beyond the center of the airframe.