Blue Steel (missile)

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Blue Steel
Blue Steel missile
Type	Nuclear stand-off air-launched cruise missile
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1963-1970
Used by	Royal Air Force
Production history
Manufacturer	Avro
No. built	53 operational live rounds
Variants	One/mod for low-level delivery
Specifications
Mass	17,000 lb (7,700 kg)[1]
Length	34 ft 11 in (10.64 m)[2]
Diameter	1.22 m (48 in) minimum
Wingspan	12 ft 11 in (3.94 m)[2]
Warhead	Red Snow thermonuclear weapon
Blast yield	1.1 megaton
Engine	Armstrong Siddeley Stentor 20,000 lbf (89 kN)
Propellant	hydrogen peroxide with kerosene
Operational range	926 km (575 mi)[3]
Flight ceiling	21,500 m (70,500 ft)
Maximum speed	Mach 3+[3]
Guidance system	Inertial navigation system
Steering system	Movable flight control surfaces
Launch platform	Aircraft

The Avro Blue Steel was a British air-launched, rocket-propelled nuclear armed standoff missile, built to arm the V bomber force. It allowed the bomber to launch the missile against its target while still outside the range of surface-to-air missiles (SAMs). The missile proceeded to the target at speeds up to Mach 3, and would trigger within 100 m of the pre-defined target point.

Blue Steel entered service in 1963, by which point improved SAMs with longer range had greatly eroded the advantages of the design. A longer-range version, Blue Steel II, was considered, but cancelled in favour of the much longer-range GAM-87 Skybolt system from the US. When development of that system was cancelled in 1962, the V-bomber fleet was considered highly vulnerable. Blue Steel remained the primary British nuclear deterrent weapon until the Royal Navy started operating Polaris ballistic missiles from Resolution-class submarines.