Detection range and geography continue to affect interception after missiles arrive. In this simplified comparison, a gun shell progressively loses energy and speed as it travels away from the ship, while a missile maintains its speed to the target. The speed of the approaching aircraft or weapon matters alongside the interceptor's speed. These factors explain the attention paid to Mach 3, Mach 4 and Mach 5 performance.
Notable Point · 1:34:44-1:35:25
Missile speed and the shrinking interception window
Weapon speed and target speed enter the missile interception problem alongside detection distance and geography.