Radar proximity fuzing and the Cold War paradigm

This paper covers an overview of the history of radar proximity fuze design, with an emphasis on previous design approaches of radar fuzing used for strategic and tactical nuclear missiles, and how the Cold War paradigm drove the requirements. Also covered is a discussion of the how the Cold War “chess game” drove the escalation of electronic countermeasures, electronic counter-countermeasures, etc. The paper focuses on design approaches used in the 1950s and early 1960s, which was before the invention of integrated circuits, processors, and solid-state transmitters.