missile gap

noun

1. a lag in one country's missile production relative to the production of another country.

Word History and Origins

Origin of missile gap¹

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

However illusory the “missile gap” may have been, it is striking that a liberal icon so firmly stood for peace through strength.

From The Daily Beast

Was it really about islands named Quemoy and Matsu or the missile gap?

From The Daily Beast

The "bomber gap" of several years ago was always a fiction, and the "missile gap" shows every sign of being the same.

From Project Gutenberg