<p>The first use of guided missiles in warfare had served notice of a new generation of weapons As poor as the V-1 and V-2 were, as inaccurate and unreliable, they did do horrendous damage and additionally were responsible for a reduction in the bomber offensive against Germany, because many heavy bomber sorties were dispatched against them instead. Anti-aircraft missiles, happily too late to see combat use by the Germans, also presaged the future. Air-to-surface weapons, like the Fritz-X used by the Germans against Allied shipping, and the Bat, used by the US Navy against Japanese shipping, also were the forerunners of weapons to come.
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<p>Electronic warfare was born in those brief years. It began with the unsophisticated, but effective, radars that could detect aircraft movements. The first counter was a simple and direct one: bomb the radar sites. More subtle countermeasures were developed such as the use of 'window' or 'rope' to saturate the return and produce a bright blob on the enemy radar scope. Later, electronic jamming and deception entered, to be countered by equally tricky ideas.
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<p>A majority of these new technological steps had been taken by the Germans. The AAF was extremely interested in finding out about them for two reasons: first, the classical military one of knowing the enemy's weapons so that countermeasures could be prepared: second, using enemy technology as a building-block for advanced developments of similar weapons for the AAF.
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<p>One of the reasons the United States lagged behind the Germans, and the British to a lesser extent, was that advanced research and development for the military had not been a well organized, continuously funded program in America. During World War II, it was a stated policy that military research and development ought to be confined to improving existing aircraft, ships, tanks and artillery. The leaders who were building toward an independent air force had other ideas.
