1. The Race for the Jet Fighter
There will never be another manned jet fighter as powerful as the Lockheed F-22 Raptor. Its extraordinary capability is the result of a weapons race to evolve the perfect combat aircraft which began well before Frank Whittle invented the jet engine. This programme looks at the requirements such as speed, endurance, manoeuvrability and fire power which pushed designers to explore the technological limits, the pilots who flew them and examines how combat honed their mounts into ever-more deadly killing machines.
2. The Race for the Battletank
The most fearsome tank on today’s battlefield is the US M-1A2 Abrams - virtually impregnable, fast, and capable of destroying an opponent many miles away. It is the most perfect example of a weapons race which began over 90 years ago to find a fighting machine capable of breaking the stalemate of the World War 1 trenches. The programme looks at how these behemoths were shaped in combat, how the competing requirements of protection, cross-country ability and firepower were refined, and how tactics such as Blitzkrieg were developed to make the battle tank King of the Battlefield.3. The Race for Radar and Stealth
As soon as the idea of strategic bombing was conceived, countries began to look at ways of detecting them – or at evading this detection. Today’s stealth technology as exemplified in the Lockheed Martin F-117A Nighthawk seems to have won a race which began in the 1930s with the possibility of developing a death ray! The radar weapons race really heated up when the British demonstrated how vital it was in the Battle of Britain. This programme looks at developments ever since, with ever-more extraordinary ways of spotting all sorts of military and civil machines or of evading detection.4. The Race for the Atomic Bomb
The explosion of an atomic bomb in the New Mexico desert in July 1945 showed that the Allies had beaten the Nazis in the first lap of a race to develop the ultimate weapon. The first bombs were so bulky that they needed a massive bomber to deliver them. Today, the Tomahawk cruise missile is barely larger than a torpedo and can carry a far more powerful weapon hundreds of miles. This programme looks at the weapons race which continued with the Soviet Union using every means possible – particularly espionage - to catch up with the United States and then competing to produce smaller and more deadly bombs.5. The Race for the Strategic Bomber
For centuries, men dreamed of machines which could win wars without slaughter on the ground. In today’s Northrop B-2A Spirit stealth bomber, we seem to have reached this ideal – a strategic bomber which is virtually undetectable and can straddle the world. Armed with weapons of extraordinary power and precision, it is the culmination of a weapons race which began during World War 1. The programme examines the elements of range, payload, protection and performance which convinced military theorists that this could be the ultimate weapon, and looks at the way in which their hopes and fears were tested in combat.6. Race for the Ballistic Missile
From the moment the first German V-2 rocket exploded on London, the weapons race was on to develop more powerful missiles with greater range, payload and accuracy. Today, the US sub-launched Trident 2 and the Russian mobile SS27/28 ‘Topol-M’ are the state of the art – difficult to detect and almost impossible to stop once launched. This programme looks at the men who first conceived the idea of long-range rockets, their successes and failures and the way in which the nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile became the most powerful weapon ever known to man.7. The Race for the Nuclear Submarine
As soon as it was realised that nuclear propulsion would enable submarines to achieve their full potential as virtually undetectable killers of other ships, the race was on both to get nuclear power to sea, and then to develop the capabilities of this revolutionary weapon. Qualities of endurance, speed, and weaponry became vital as the nuclear submarine revolutionised naval warfare. This programme looks at the way in which both the technology and the tactics of submarine warfare were adapted and developed during the Cold War, and how boats like the USS Virginia and the Russian Akula are today’s most powerful and deadly naval units.8. The Race for the Aircraft Carrier
Today, massive nuclear-powered aircraft carriers like the USS Ronald Reagan can project American power anywhere in the world. They are the ultimate examples of a weapons race which began during World War 1 when Britain’s Royal Navy pioneered the art of flying aircraft off specially-designed ships. Navies then wrestled with balancing requirements such as aircraft capacity, endurance, and survivability to produce a vessel which became the undisputed Queen of the World War 2 naval battlefield. The programme looks at this process, and how the aircraft carrier adapted into a floating military base of extraordinary potency.Promo Banner