National Air and Space Museum Image Detail

Cuban Missile Crisis

In October 1962, the CIA’s National Photographic Interpretative Center (NPIC) first noticed anomalies in “ranch country” in western Cuba and identified the existence of MRBMs (medium range ballistic missiles), specifically SS-4 surface to air missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. The above U-2 photo shows a completed SA-2 missile launch site in Cuba.

Image Number: WEB12585-2012
Credit: U.S. Air Force Photo
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