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This a long-range naval surface-to-air missiles and was the second SAM to be mounted on USN ships. The Talos used radar beam riding for guidance to the vicinity of its target, and semiactive radar homing (SARH) for terminal guidance. The array of four antenna which surround the nose are SARH receivers which functioned as a continuous wave interferometer. Initial thrust was provided by a solid rocket booster for launch and a Bendix ramjet for flight to the target with the warhead serving as the ramjet's compressor.

The Talos saw relatively limited use due to its large size and dual radar antenna system; there were few ships that could accommodate the large missiles with the AN/SPW-2 missile guidance radar and the AN/SPG-49 target illumination and tracking radar. The 9.9-meter-long, 3½-tonne missile was comparable in size to a small fighter aircraft. The Talos Mark 7 Guided Missile Launching System (GMLS) was installed in three GALVESTON-class cruisers (converted CLEVELAND-class light cruisers) with 16 missiles in a ready-service magazine and up to 30 missiles and boosters in a storage area above the main deck. Nuclear-powered USS LONG BEACH and three ALBANY-class cruisers (converted BALTIMORE-class heavy cruisers) carried Mark 12 Guided Missile Launching Systems fed from a 52-round magazine below the main deck.

The Talos weighed 7,800lbs (3,500kg) [missile weight 3,400lbs and booster weight 2,000lbs]. Length was 32ft (9.8m) and a diameter of 28in (71cm). Warhead was a 211kg (465lb) continuous-rod HE warhead or a W30 nuclear warhead (variable 2–5 kt). Operational range was 50nm (92km) with an operational ceiling of 80,100ft (24,400m) with a max speed of Mach 3.

The initial SAM-N-6b/RIM-8A had an effective range of about 50nm, and a conventional warhead. The SAM-N-6bW/RIM-8B was a RIM-8A with a nuclear warhead; terminal guidance was judged unnecessary for a nuclear warhead, so the SARH antenna was omitted. The SAM-N-6b1/RIM-8C was introduced in 1960 and had double the range, and a more effective conventional continuous-rod warhead. The RIM-8D was the nuclear-warhead version of the -8C. The SAM-N-6c/RIM-8E "Unified Talos" had a warhead that could be swapped while embarked, eliminating the need to waste magazine capacity carrying dedicated nuclear-tipped variants. The RIM-8E also carried an improved continuous-wave terminal homing seeker, and had a higher ceiling reach-out. Some RIM-8Cs were retrofitted with the new seeker, and designated RIM-8F. The RIM-8G and RIM-8J had further radar homing improvements and a new fuel that extended the range to 130nm.

The Talos saw action in Vietnam, with a total of four MiGs being shot down by the USS CHICAGO and USS LONG BEACH. On 23 May, 1968, a Talos fired from the LONG BEACH shot down a Vietnamese MiG at a range of 65 miles. This was the first downing of a hostile aircraft by a missile fired from a ship. The hit also destroyed a second MiG which flew through the debris. In September 1968 Long Beach scored another MiG destroyed at a range of 61 miles. On May 9, 1972 Chicago's forward Talos battery scored a long-range kill on a MiG.

In addition to its anti-aircraft capability, the Talos also had surface-to-surface capabilities.

The RIM-8H Talos-ARM was a dedicated anti-radar homing missile for use against shore-based radar stations. Initial testing of the RIM-8H was performed in 1965, and soon after it was deployed in Vietnam on CHICAGO, OKLAHOMA CITY, and LONG BEACH, attacking North Vietnamese SAM radars. OKLAHOMA CITY fired the first successful RIM-8H combat shot in US Navy history in early 1972. It was also the first combat surface-to-surface missile shot in US Navy history.