The Minuteman ICBM constituted one of the most technologically significant strategic weapon systems developed during the cold war. The first Minuteman missile was placed on alert at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, on 27 October 1962. Compared to Atlas and Titan I, the first generation of liquid-fueled ICBMs, the Minuteman was a simple, lightweight, reliable, solid-fueled missile, inexpensive to build and maintain, and quick to launch. Minuteman could deliver a nuclear warhead a continent away in about a half-hour.