Guided Missiles

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Guided Missiles
I

INTRODUCTION

Guided Missiles, self-propelled aerial projectiles, usually containing conventional or nuclear explosives,
guided in flight towards a target either by remote control or by internal mechanisms. Guided missiles
vary widely in size and type, ranging from large strategic ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads to
small, portable rockets carried by foot soldiers. Although most are military weapons with explosive
warheads, others may carry scientific instruments for gathering information within or above the
Earths atmosphere.

Guided missiles consist of three separate systems: power source, guidance and control mechanism,
and warhead or payload. Power sources normally are either self-contained rocket motors or airbreathing jet engines, but may also be airfoils or outside booster charges from ramp or tube

launchers. The type of guidance and control system employed depends on the type of missile and the
nature of the target. Inertial guidance systems sense the position of the flight path in relation to a

fixed target; other guidance systems use a variety of more active sensors to help direct the missile

towards a moving objective. Payloads are generally warheads (bombs) designed for specific missions,
from piercing armour plate to destroying entire urban areas (see Missile Warfare).

Not all missiles require guidance systems. Very short range missilesartillery and sounding rockets
(which may carry scientific instruments for collecting information within or above the Earth's

atmosphere)with ranges of up to about 90 km (56 mi), and efficient aerodynamics and high

acceleration, can be delivered onto their targets with such accuracy that they do not require guidance.
The range of more sophisticated systems can be increased to about 140 km (87 mi), although

guidance is provided if great accuracy is required. The US Lance surface-to-surface missile with a

range of about 120 km (74 mi), for example, was provided with guidance. At greater ranges, drag,

wind, and drift spoil the accuracy of even the best-designed missile; the designers then have to rely
on guidance for acceptable accuracy.

Some 90 countries have artillery rockets with ranges of up to 40 km (25 mi); about 40 countries have
missiles with ranges of more than 40 km (25 mi); 12 countries have ballistic missiles able to deliver

major payloads over ranges greater than 600 km (387 mi); and 9 countries have missiles with ranges
greater than 1,500 km (930 mi), of which China, Russia, and the US have intercontinental ballistic
missiles (ICBM) with ranges greater than 5,500 km (3,400 mi).

Before World War II guided missiles were limited to experimental, pilotless aircraft controlled by radio.
During the war, however, rapid technological advances in such fields as aerodynamics, electronics,
rocket and jet propulsion, radar, servo-mechanisms, inertial guidance and control systems, and

aircraft structures, coupled with the intensive search for better weapons, led to the construction,
testing, and finally mass production of the modern guided missile.

II

WARHEADS

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Military guided missiles carry either high-explosive or chemical, biological, or nuclear warheads (see
Chemical and Biological Warfare). Short-range tactical missiles employ high-explosive charges that

produce damage through their force of impact and blast or through fragmentation. Anti-tank missiles,
for example, normally depend on a concentrated blast effect to penetrate or splinter armour;

warheads used against less protected targets such as aircraft rely more on fragmentation to produce
the greatest damage.

Nuclear warheads are weapons of mass destruction carried primarily by an ICBM. To enhance the

effectiveness of these long-range delivery systems, several types of warheads were developed in the
1970s. The multiple independently targeted re-entry vehicle (MIRV) dispatches several nuclear

warheads from a single missile while in flight; the rocket-powered manoeuvrable alternative-target reentry vehicle enables an individual warhead to change course as it falls. The Soviet-built fractional
orbit bombardment system (FOBS) allows missiles or warheads to remain in Earth orbit before

beginning their descent. FOBS gave the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) the ability to

launch a mass attack against the United States from any direction rather than just depending on a
ballistic pathway arching over the North Pole.

The 1993 START II arms control agreement banned all ICBMs with MIRV but was never ratified by the
US and Russia. It also attempted to limit submarine-launched ballistic missiles and called for the

elimination of all multiple-warhead land-based missiles. However, during their November 2001 summit
meeting in Washington, D.C., Presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin agreed to attempt to
make progress again in reductions in strategic nuclear forces. Bush announced that the US would

unilaterally reduce the number of its operationally deployed strategic nuclear warheads to between

1,700 and 2,200 over the next ten years, substantially below the 3,500-warhead limit in the START II
Treaty. Putin announced that the Russians would reduce the number of their operationally deployed

strategic nuclear warheads to 1,500, but he did not say over what period of time this would be done.
Nuclear warheads are also used in several US air defence missiles with the intention of breaking up
mass bomber formations. Most large tactical missiles are designed to carry nuclear warheads to

destroy military concentrations on or behind the battlefield. In the 1980s, Soviet airborne or shipboard
nuclear-tipped cruise missiles posed a threat to US Navy carrier task forces. A new type of nuclear

weapon, the first to be added to the US arsenal since 1989, is being deployed by the United States.

The weapons laboratory at Los Alamos has created the B61 Mod 11, an earth-penetrating warhead
designed to destroy underground command and control installations.

III

GUIDANCE AND CONTROL

Missiles are guided towards targets by remote control or by internal guidance mechanisms. Remotecontrol missiles are linked to a human or mechanical target locator through trailing wires, wireless

radio, laser, or some other type of signal system. Internal guidance mechanisms have optical, radar,
infrared, or some other type of sensor that can detect heat, light, or electronic emissions from the

target. Most missiles have some type of movable fins or airfoil that can be used to direct the course of
the missile towards the target while in flight.

The inertial guidance systems of ballistic missiles are more complex. Missile velocity, pitch, yaw, and

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roll are sensed by internal gyroscopes and accelerometers, and course corrections are made

mechanically by slightly altering the thrust of the rocket exhaust by means of movable vanes or
deflectors. In larger rockets, small external jets are also used to alter direction.

With laser-guided missiles an operator uses a laser to sight the target. After launch, the missile uses
onboard sensors to look for the heat signal created by the laser on the target to acquire the target.

The missile then homes in on the target, even a moving target. Laser guidance does not work in rain
or when there is significant cloud cover. The disadvantages of laser guidance can be overcome by

using the Global Positioning System (GPS) to navigate the missile to its target. GPS, which uses a

satellite system to provide very accurate location, is not affected by weather conditions navigating the
missile to the target. GPS-guided missiles have been tested but not yet used in action. GPS-guided

missiles are tomorrows weapons, unaffected by adverse weather conditions, unrestricted by a wire,
and not leaving any operator vulnerable.

IV

MISSILE PROLIFERATION

The range and relative low cost of missiles make them the preferred means of delivery system for

proliferating nationsthose believed to be in the process of developing weapons of mass destruction.

The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) consists of 33 nations that have agreed to control

exports of missile technology and equipment. China is as yet not a member of the MTCR, but is in the
process of agreeing to its requirements, which refer to weapons of range 300 km (186 mi) or more,
and carrying payloads of at least 500 kg (1,100 lb).

The United States and the former Soviet Union have in the past provided missiles to other powers,

such as Israel and other Middle Eastern countries. India and Pakistan are said to have developed their
own systems. China and Argentina, among others, are suspected of having been suppliers to other
countries.

The Middle East, Far East, and Indian subcontinent are the prime areas threatened by missile

proliferation. In the Gulf War, there was widespread fear that Iraqs Russian-made Scud missiles, of
600 km (372 mi) range, may have been carrying chemical warheads; over 800 Scuds were fired

during the conflictten of which had a range of 900 km (560 mi). The 600-km Scud-C was later made
in Iraq. Israel has its own Jericho missiles, which have ranges of 650 km (403 mi) and 1,500 km (930
mi). North Korea, at the same time as being suspected of nuclear proliferation, has tested missiles

based on the Scud of ranges 500 km (310 mi) and 1,500 km (930 mi); other nations in the region are
feared to be developing or advancing their own programmes as a countermeasure.

TYPES OF MISSILES

Guided missiles today are grouped into five launch-to-target categories: surface-to-surface, surface-

to-air, air-to-surface, air-to-ground, and air-to-air. Surface in each case signifies on as well as below
the surface of the land or sea. Missiles may also be grouped by their area of operation. Tactical

missiles are used by military forces in direct combat on and above the battlefield; support missiles are
employed behind the main battle area; and strategic missiles are designed for intercontinental

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warfare.
Missiles may also be differentiated by their flight characteristics. Aerodynamic missiles are supported
in flight by air pressure around their wing and body surfaces, similar to conventional piloted aircraft,
whereas ballistic missiles depend solely on their internal power source, usually a rocket engine, to

remain airborne. Aerodynamic missiles normally travel on a straight-line or flat trajectory towards

their target, and ballistic missiles are usually surface-to-surface weapons that follow curved or arched
trajectories similar to that of an artillery projectile.

A Surface-to-Surface Missiles
A1 V-1 and V-2

The first successful guided missiles were the German V-1 and V-2 Vengeance weapons launched

against Antwerp and London during World War II. The V-1, or buzz bomb, was an aerodynamic missile
powered by a pulse jet engine with a pre-set guidance system that could sense and correct deviations
in altitude and direction. Its average range was about 240 km (150 mi), after which the missile

automatically sent itself into a steep dive and detonated its 1-tonne high-explosive warhead upon

impact. The V-2, on the other hand, was a true ballistic missile fuelled by a mixture of alcohol and

liquid oxygen that produced a 25,000-kg (55,000-lb) thrust for about one minute after take-off. With
a maximum range of about 320 km (200 mi), the V-2 carried its 730-kg (1,600-lb) warhead through

an arching trajectory, reaching a maximum altitude of 95 to 110 km (about 60 to 70 mi) and a speed
of more than 1.6 km (1 mi) per second.

Both missiles were relatively inaccurate and were used only against large cities. The V-1 could be
destroyed easily in flight by conventional fighters, but no defence existed against the V-2. Allied

attempts to destroy their mobile launching sites proved ineffective. Germany managed to launch

about 4,000 V-2s before the end of the war. Wire-guided anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles and airto-air guided missiles were tested by German scientists but were never produced.

Appreciating the great potential of the German efforts in guided and ballistic missiles, Allied

intelligence teams scoured Germany in 1945 for technical data, design drawings, and missiles, and

they interrogated key German scientists and engineers. During the war the Allied powers had made

little progress in these fields; they were quick, however, to integrate German research and technicians
into their own development programmes, and most post-war research was based on the work done in
wartime Germany. The German V-2, in fact, served as the prototype for all large space and missile
rockets built in the United States and the USSR.

A2

Land-Based Strategic Missiles

After World War II, the US defensive policy of strategic deterrence depended on a large fleet of longrange bombers that could deliver nuclear weapons accurately to their targets thousands of miles

away. Defence planners also experimented with air-breathing subsonic missiles similar to the V-1.
Three developments in the mid-1950s, however, led to the ICBM: (1) development of the

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thermonuclear bomb with a much greater destructive power than the original atomic bomb; (2) the
rapid refinement of inertial guidance systems for ballistic missiles; and (3) the development of

powerful booster engines for multi-stage rockets, greatly increasing their size and range. As a result,
ballistic missiles became sufficiently accurate and powerful to destroy targets 8,000 km (5,000 mi)
away.

Atlas, the United States first successful ICBM, was tested in 1959 and was followed one year later by
the Titan. Both were multi-stage liquid-fuelled rockets using extremely low-temperature propellants
that had to be added just before launching. The US Minuteman ICBM that first went into service in

1961 used solid fuels stored within the missile, could be launched on short notice, and was sheltered
in underground concrete silos. Both Minuteman I and II missiles have now been phased out, leaving
only Minuteman III missiles. The US Missile X, or MX (also known as Peacekeeper), that was

developed in the 1980s, was designed to carry a larger warhead and to have a mobile launching site
capability.

A3

Sea-Based Strategic Missiles

Strategic delivery systems went through the same evolution in the US Navy, as slow air-breathing

missiles, liquid-fuelled rockets, and carrier-based piloted bombers were abandoned for the two-stage,
solid-propellant Polaris ICBM. Carried in two parallel rows of eight aboard large nuclear-powered
submarines, these sea-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) were launched from underwater.

The US Navy replaced Polaris with the longer-range Poseidon ICBM, and developed an entirely new

ICBM, the Trident C-4, to be compatible with the new, large Trident submarines. The ICBMs currently
in service in the US Navy include the Trident D-5, deployed in 1989, which carries eight nuclear

warheads, has a range of 12,000 km (7,440 mi), and has the capability to attack a series of different
targets. Trident D-5 missiles have a megaton yield per warhead of 300 to 475 kilotons. Plans by the
Pentagon to build and install over 450 are under consideration; with the approval in 1995 of a

strategic re-targeting system, Trident submarines are able to target the missiles to any point on Earth.

A4

Cruise Missiles

The United States also designed the air-breathing cruise missile for both strategic and tactical

missions. Cruise missiles can be nuclear or conventional (that is dual-capable); the Tomahawk can be
launched from ground, ship, air, or submarine against short-range tactical targets such as ships, or
against strategic targets several thousand kilometres away.

The anti-ship version, the sea-launched cruise missile (SLCM), travels a few metres above sea level
towards the general area of a target. It then climbs, locates the target through its own sensing

devices, and dodges before making a final, high-speed diving attack. All US and Russian SLCMs have
been withdrawn from ships.

The land version of this missile can also travel at a low altitude to avoid radar detection, guided by an
internal terrain contour navigation system.

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Guided Missiles

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Tactical Missiles

Tactical surface-to-surface guided missiles range from hand-portable anti-tank rockets to large

ballistic missiles able to attack airfields, supply lines, and communications hundreds of kilometres
behind the battlefield. Small missiles often employ line-of-sight guidance systems that relay
corrections in the flight path of the missile by means of trailing wires or infrared signals.

In the US Copperhead guided projectile the target is marked by a laser beam on the battlefield. The
missile is then launched several kilometres to the rear and searches for the marked target while in

flight. On a larger scale battlefield support missiles were developed, including short-to-medium range
ballistic weapons such as the US Pershing, and tactical cruise missiles, both of which have been

banned under the terms of the 1987 Intermediate Nuclear Forces treaty (see International Arms

Control). All tactical missiles are mobile, carry nuclear or high-explosive warheads, and have a range
of about 160 to 640 km (100 to 400 mi).

Air-Launched Missiles

Air-to-air and air-to-surface guided missiles are generally short-range, light, rocket-powered

projectiles with sophisticated internal guidance systems. Both types were tested in wartime Germany,

and German radio-controlled glide bombs were responsible for sinking numerous Allied ships. Although
these early missile weapons relied on optical tracking and control from parent aircraft, most current

air-to-ground guided missiles depend on their own target-sensing mechanism once launched. The US
Walleye and Maverick use a miniature television homing system, the Shrike follows radar emissions
from hostile positions, and others, such as the unpowered smart bombs that were employed in

South East Asia, use laser or infrared target designators to help guide the missile to its objective. The
USSR developed several versions of large, air-breathing missiles similar to US cruise missiles,
designed to be used against shipping or as a nuclear delivery system for strategic bombers.

Air-to-air guided missiles are used to destroy hostile aircraft and are generally smaller, lighter, and
faster than air-to-ground projectiles. Most employ infrared or radar homing devices, and have

replaced automatic gunfire as the main armament of fighter aircraft. Like almost all tactical missiles,
however, their success depends on the skill of the operator, in this case the aircraft pilot, to identify
hostile targets visually or by radar and to manoeuvre the launching platform in order to place the
missile in the vicinity of the moving target.

Surface-to-Air Missiles

This type of missile was developed to protect ground areas from hostile air attack, especially from

high-altitude bombers flying above the range of conventional anti-aircraft artillery. During the 1950s
and 1960s batteries of Nike-Ajax and the improved Nike-Hercules provided strategic air defence for

the United States against long-range Soviet bombers. Subsequently, with the replacement of piloted
bombers by the ICBM as the Soviet Unions primary nuclear delivery system, and with the signing of
an agreement between the United States and the USSR to limit the deployment of defensive anti-

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ballistic missiles, most research and development went into shorter-range, tactical surface-to-air

missiles to protect ground combat units and warships against low-flying aircraft and hostile missiles.

C1

Air Defence

Most air defence missiles employ separate radars to locate, track, and guide the missile towards

hostile aircraft; final interception is accomplished by the internal guidance system of the missile itself.
Some of these missiles are air-to-air weapons adapted for ground units; others can also be used
against ground targets.

After 1970 almost all the major industrial nations developed many different types of these weapons to

cover overlapping areas above the battlefield, including the hand-portable anti-aircraft missile, sighted
optically and using an internal infrared homing device.

More important was the development of integrated fire-control systems for ground units, enabling
them to separate friendly from hostile aircraft and to engage them with the most appropriate air

defence systems available. Patriot Advanced Capability-2 (PAC-2) missiles were used in the Gulf War
to intercept Scud missiles fired by Iraqi forces against targets in Saudi Arabia and Israel. Upgraded
PAC-2s are now entering service with the US Army. See also Strategic Defense Initiative.
Microsoft Encarta 2009. 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Microsoft Encarta 2009. 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.