During the Cold War, Nike Hercules anti-aircraft missiles stood guard around many major U.S. cities and facilities, capable of bringing down high-flying, fast-moving bombers with high-explosive warheads or, with a nuclear warhead, destroying an entire formation of attacking enemy airplanes with a single missile. Typical of weapon systems tested at White Sands Missile Range from launch complexes stretching east from here, the Nike Hercules was America's second-generation air defense missile system, following the Nike Ajax in testing there. Testing at White Sands began in 1955 and concluded in 1967 after more than 650 missiles had been fired. In 1960, a Nike Hercules shot down a Corporal ballistic missile, and later Nike Hercules missiles themselves were used as targets for the Nike Zeus system, which was designed to destroy incoming Soviet missiles. Most U.S. Hercules batteries in the continental United States were deactivated by 1975, although some allies continued to field the system into the early 21st century. The Nike Hercules stands 41 feet tall and is 31.9 inches in diameter; at liftoff it weighed 10,700 pounds and used solid propellant in both booster and missile to exceed 2,500 miles per hour, with an operating range of more than 75 miles and a maximum altitude of almost 30 miles.