ABSTRACT
As technical preparations for the introduction of Polaris missiles into Royal Navy service gathered pace during early 1963 it was apparent that the ability of Polaris to overcome the Soviet ABM environment that could be expected to appear in the 1970s was already an issue that would require attention. Design decisions over the Polaris primary were made in a context where UK knowledge of the vulnerability of warheads and re-entry systems to the effects of ABM explosions was relatively limited. On 4 May 1964 an important milestone was reached when James Harrison at the Ministry of Aviation wrote to inform all interested officials in the MoA and at RAE that a Polaris penetration aid study had received ministerial approval and was being given the project reference number HR 169; Fred East held his first meeting to launch the study at RAE that same day.
