Intercontinental Ballistic Missile – ICBM – a Symbol of “Cold War”?

World War II marked the beginning of the forty-five years long period of tense peace, described as the Cold War. Two superpowers that emerged from World War II started to compete for hegemony over the world, representing two diametrically different political and economic systems. In any other historical period, such situation would lead to an inevitable great war, but after 1945 the competition was threatened by the possibility of using nuclear weapon whose capability of destruction was so enormous that neither of parties ventured direct confrontation. World War II contributed to scientific advancement that played a crucial role in the military progress of these states. The development of technologies assisting nuclear weapon resulted in a revolutionary change in military capability provided by the parties of the conflict. Rocket projectiles were the symbol of the 20th century, due to the fact that they carried humans into space, but also because they carried deadly weapon capable of killing hundreds thousands people. This combination of nuclear weapon with medium-range and intercontinental missiles caused that the world had to face permanent threat.