Editing Surface-to-air missile (section)

===Smaller, faster===
[[File:Zestaw przeciwrakietowy Osa.JPG|thumb|right|The Osa was the first system to include search, track and missiles all on a single mobile platform.]]
[[File:Poliment-Redut naval anti-aircraft missile system.webm|thumb|left|Video of launch of Poliment-Redut naval SAM]]

All of these early systems were "heavyweight" designs with limited mobility and requiring considerable set-up time. However, they were also increasingly effective. By the early 1960s, the deployment of SAMs had rendered high-speed high-altitude flight in combat practically suicidal.<ref group="nb">The introduction of effective SAMs led to the cancellation of the B-70 bomber, and the prohibition of crewed reconnaissance flights over the Soviet Union.</ref> The way to avoid this was to fly lower, below the line-of-sight of missile's radar systems. This demanded very different aircraft, like the [[General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark|F-111]], [[BAC TSR-2|TSR-2]], and [[Panavia Tornado]].

Consequently, SAMs evolved rapidly in the 1960s. As their targets were now being forced to fly lower due to the presence of the larger missiles, engagements would necessarily be at short ranges, and occur quickly. Shorter ranges meant the missiles could be much smaller, which aided them in terms of mobility. By the mid-1960s, almost all modern armed forces had short-range missiles mounted on trucks or light armour that could move with the armed forces they protected. Examples include the [[2K12 Kub]] (SA-6) and [[9K33 Osa]] (SA-8), [[MIM-23 Hawk]], [[Rapier missile|Rapier]], [[Roland (missile)|Roland]] and [[Crotale (missile)|Crotale]].

The introduction of [[sea-skimming missile]]s in the late 1960s and 1970s led to additional mid- and short-range designs for defence against these targets. The UK's [[Sea Cat]] was an early example that was designed specifically to replace the [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|Bofors 40 mm]] gun on its mount, and became the first operational point-defense SAM.<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1963/1963%20-%201625.html "SEACAT – The Guided Missile To Defend Small Ships"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101232424/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1963/1963%20-%201625.html |date=2013-11-01 }}, ''Flight International'', 5 September 1963, p. 438.</ref> The American [[RIM-7 Sea Sparrow]] quickly proliferated into a wide variety of designs fielded by most navies. Many of these are adapted from earlier mobile designs, but the special needs of the naval role has resulted in the continued existence of many custom missiles.