The US Army Air Force becomes a separate armed service as the United States Air Force in 1947. Throughout the 1950’s during the Cold War between the United States and the USSR, thermonuclear weapons (hydrogen bombs) were developed and both nations developed missiles – Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles or ICBMs - capable to carry a nuclear warhead to the others homeland. The ICBMs became a part of the Air Force’s operational arsenal in 1959.