Atlas Trail
Still Serving: American Weapons Systems from the Sidewinder to the M777
These eight weapons systems entered American service between 1956 and 2005 and are still in use today. Taken in the order they were fielded, they show how a Cold War arsenal of missiles, helicopters, ships, a submarine and guns was kept relevant through repeated upgrades into the twenty-first century.
Stop 1 of 8.
Weapons Systems
The path begins with the AIM-9 Sidewinder, a short-range infrared-homing air-to-air missile that entered Navy service in 1956 and the Air Force in 1964. Its heat-seeking guidance let a fighter launch and then maneuver away, and upgraded versions still serve with dozens of air forces.
Stop 2 of 8.
Weapons Systems
The M18 Claymore, fielded from the 1960s, is a directional anti-personnel mine that throws roughly 700 steel balls across a fan of about 60 degrees. A soldier detonates it by wire, so defenders could cover a trail with one weapon, and its Front Toward Enemy marking became widely recognized.
Stop 3 of 8.
Weapons Systems
The tandem-rotor CH-47 Chinook began delivery to the US Army in August 1962. Its heavy lift moved troops, artillery and supplies into rough ground, including sling-loaded cargo in Vietnam, and it is still in frontline use more than six decades on.
Stop 4 of 8.
Weapons Systems
USS Nimitz was commissioned on 3 May 1975, the lead of ten nuclear-powered carriers. Reactor power limits its endurance only by crew supplies, and the class is being succeeded by the Ford class while remaining in front-line service.
Stop 5 of 8.
Weapons Systems
The UH-60 Black Hawk entered Army service in 1979 as the replacement for the Vietnam-era Huey. Built to carry an infantry squad, with armor and crash-absorbing design drawn from Vietnam lessons, it flew in Panama, Mogadishu, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Stop 6 of 8.
Weapons Systems
USS Ohio was commissioned on 11 November 1981. The class includes 14 ballistic-missile boats, the sea-based leg of the nuclear triad, and four converted to carry conventional cruise missiles, with replacement by the Columbia class planned from the 2030s.
Stop 7 of 8.
Weapons Systems
The M2 Bradley entered service in 1981 to replace the M113 and fight alongside its infantry rather than only carry them. Armed with a 25mm chain gun and TOW missiles, it destroyed more Iraqi armored vehicles than the M1 Abrams in the 1991 Gulf War.
Stop 8 of 8.
Weapons Systems
The path ends with the M777, a titanium 155mm towed howitzer that replaced the M198 in 2005 at roughly half its weight. That lightness lets a Chinook lift it, and it gained wide attention after transfers to Ukraine in 2022.
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