The Avro Blue Steel was a British air-launched, rocket-propelled nuclear armed standoff missile, built to arm the V bomber force. It allowed the bomber to launch the missile against its target while still outside the range of surface-to-air missiles (SAMs). The missile proceeded to the target at speeds up to Mach 3, and would trigger within 100 m of the pre-defined target point.
Avro Blue Steel nuclear missile (front) at the Midland Air Museum
Avro Blue Steel missile (side view) at the Midland Air Museum behind the wing of an Avro Vulcan bomber
Rear view of Blue Steel missile at RAF Cosford aerospace museum, showing the twin-chamber "Stentor" rocket motor
AEC Mandator Blue Steel tender at RAF Museum, Hendon
Avro was a British aircraft manufacturer. Its designs include the Avro 504, used as a trainer in the First World War, the Avro Lancaster, one of the pre-eminent bombers of the Second World War, and the delta wing Avro Vulcan, a stalwart of the Cold War.
The A.V. Roe Type I Triplane, Roe's first successful aircraft
The Avro Lancaster
Avro Vulcan