This is the first history of the legendary US Army's HAWK missile
system, the world's first mobile air-defense missile system, which saw
service and combat around the world.
Designed to counteract the threat posed by advanced 1950s Soviet-built
aircraft, the first HAWK unit became operational in 1959. At its peak,
it saw frontline service in the Far East, Panama, Europe, and in the
Middle East. Units were also used during the Cuban Missile Crisis,
Vietnam War, and Persian Gulf War. In the hands of other nations, HAWK
proved its efficacy in combat during the Arab-Israeli Wars, Iran-Iraq
War, Chadian-Libyan War, and the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
Credited with shooting down more than 100 aircraft during its combat
career, the HAWK system was respected for its lethality. Such was Soviet
concern, that the USSR developed electronic jammers, anti-radiation
missiles, and other countermeasures specifically to degrade its
effectiveness. The US retired its HAWK systems soon after the Cold War
ended in 1991 when air defense priorities shifted from aircraft to
ballistic missile defense, yet a modernized version of the system
remains in service to this day in many nations.
Packed with archive photos and original artwork, this is the first book
about the HAWK system. Featuring research from HAWK technical and field
manuals, interviews with HAWK veterans, and detailing the authors'
personal experiences with HAWK missile units, it provides a
comprehensive study of one of the most lethal and effective air missile
systems of all time.
