Indeed. The rush to replace WWII-era vacuum tubes with solid state silicon was driven by the need to get US bombers and then missiles on target, and stop the Ru

Indeed. The rush to replace WWII-era vacuum tubes with solid state silicon was driven by the need to get US bombers and then missiles on target, and stop the Russians doing the same. For example, Fairchild Semiconductor (Santa Clara) was originally part of a (non-SV: Delaware) optics company that made spy satellite cameras. The semiconductor division's first product in 1957 was a transistor used in the B70 bomber computer and the Minuteman ICBM and it cost over $1600 a unit in today's money.