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'The Sprint was a two-stage, solid-fuel anti-ballistic missile, armed with a W66 enhanced radiation thermonuclear warhead. It was designed as the short-range high-speed counterpart to the longer-range LIM-49 Spartan as part of the Sentinel program. Sentinel never became operational, but the technology was deployed briefly in a downsized version called the Safeguard program. The Sprint, like the Spartan, was in operational service for only a few months in the Safeguard program, from October 1975 to early 1976. Congressional opposition and high costs linked to its questionable economics and efficacy against the then emerging MIRV warheads of the Soviet Union, resulted in a very short operational period.
The Sprint accelerated at 100 g, reaching a speed of Mach 10 in 5 seconds. Such a high velocity at relatively low altitudes created skin temperatures up to 6200 °F (3400 °C), requiring an ablative shield to dissipate the heat.[1][2] It was designed for close-in defense against incoming nuclear weapons. As the last line of defense it was to intercept the reentry vehicles that had not been destroyed by the Spartan, with which it was deployed.
The conical Sprint was stored in and launched from a silo. To make the launch as quick as possible, the cover was blown off the silo by explosive charges; then the missile was ejected by an explosive-driven piston. As the missile cleared the silo, the first stage fired and the missile was tilted toward its target. The first stage was exhausted after only 1.2 seconds, but produced 650,000 lbf (2,900 kN) of thrust. On separation of the spent first stage, it disintegrated due to aerodynamic forces. The second stage fired within 1 – 2 seconds of launch. Interception at an altitude of one to eighteen miles altitude (1.5 to 30 km) took at most 15 seconds.'
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprint_(missile)
It was to me. Not in terms of sophistication...but in terms of raw performance.
The Sprint accelerated at 100 g, reaching a speed of Mach 10 in 5 seconds. Such a high velocity at relatively low altitudes created skin temperatures up to 6200 °F (3400 °C), requiring an ablative shield to dissipate the heat.[1][2] It was designed for close-in defense against incoming nuclear weapons. As the last line of defense it was to intercept the reentry vehicles that had not been destroyed by the Spartan, with which it was deployed.
The conical Sprint was stored in and launched from a silo. To make the launch as quick as possible, the cover was blown off the silo by explosive charges; then the missile was ejected by an explosive-driven piston. As the missile cleared the silo, the first stage fired and the missile was tilted toward its target. The first stage was exhausted after only 1.2 seconds, but produced 650,000 lbf (2,900 kN) of thrust. On separation of the spent first stage, it disintegrated due to aerodynamic forces. The second stage fired within 1 – 2 seconds of launch. Interception at an altitude of one to eighteen miles altitude (1.5 to 30 km) took at most 15 seconds.'
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprint_(missile)
It was to me. Not in terms of sophistication...but in terms of raw performance.