Sprint Missile
Why Hacker News recommends it
Linked in missile defense threads as a striking illustration of the Sprint's acceleration and its interception tests.
What it is
Short footage of a Sprint missile from the 1970s Safeguard anti-ballistic missile system launching. The uploader notes the video is not sped up and that this is how fast it takes off.
Recommended by 0 HN commenters across 0 different months, 2010 to 2026.
What Hacker News said
Cites arethuza · 2010-09 · on “Missile Command in less than 1k of JavaScript”
The real life US missile defense systems was pretty awesome - particularly the Sprint missile (0 to Mach 10 in 5 seconds!): [LINK] Video of a Sprint intercepting a RV: [this video]
Cites z303 · 2023-02 · on “Math Breakdown: Anime Homing Missiles”
Another was Sprint. Turning towards the target before it gets too fast. Limiting the stress on the airframe and energy required. [LINK] [this video]
Cites buildsjets · 2026-06 · on “Can You Stop a Hypersonic Missile?”
Everyone keeps saying that Sprint was a nuke. That is true. However, it also scored some kinetic kills during testing at Kwajalein. [this video] I'm pretty sure that improvements in sensing, computation, actuation, and conventional warhead design over the past 50 years could have produced a reliable hit-to-kill Sprint. And in fact, some research was done on such a vehicle, the McDonnell-Douglas HEDI. [LINK]