High-speed jet aircraft flying at low altitudes presented a serious threat to naval forces in the late 1950s. Approaching under the local horizon of the ships, the aircraft would suddenly appear at relatively close ranges, giving the ships only seconds to respond before the aircraft dropped their payloads and withdrew. This gave the aircraft an enormous advantage over earlier weapons such as dive bombers or torpedo bombers, whose low speed allowed them to be attacked with some effectiveness by anti-aircraft guns. The advantage was so great that when the Royal Navy was faced by the threat of the new Soviet , they responded in a non-linear fashion by introducing the Blackburn Buccaneer aircraft to attack them.