PRAT V : STRATEGIC MISSILES

Introduction

1. Strategic missiles represent a logical step in the attempt to attack enemy

forces at a distance. As such, they can be seen as extensions of either artillery
(in the case of ballistic missiles) or manned aircraft (in the case of cruise
missiles).Such weapons are designed to strike targets far beyond the battle area
or basically for mass destruction like a nuclear missiles. They can be long range
or short range guided missiles. Short range guided missiles are usually mobile
which can be easily transported to specific location whereas long range guided
missiles requires large fuel supplies which has extremely complex guidance and
control systems.

2. A strategic nuclear weapon is usually considered to be a large vehicle like

an intercontinental ballisticmissile (ICBM) that can travel over very long ranges
and carries a very large and powerful high-yield warhead. Such kind of weapon
would typically be targeted at a military base or city according to a premeditated
war plan. Strategic missiles can be of various variety; surface to surface, air to
surface, air to air. There are mainly 2 types of strategic missiles; ballistic missiles
and cruise missiles.

Aim

3. To acquaint the class about strategic missiles.

Preview

4. The lec shall be conducted in the following parts:

(a) Part-I Ballistic missiles

(b) Part-II Cruise missiles

Part-I: Ballistic Missiles

5. Most of the missiles that we tend to think of as strategic weapons are

ballistic missiles.

6. A ballistic missile is a missile that follows a sub-orbital ballistic flight path

with the objective of delivering one or more warheads to a predetermined target.
The missile is only guide during the relatively brief initial powered phase of flight
and its course is subsequently governed by the laws of orbital mechanics and
ballistics.

7. The first ballistic missile was the A-4[1], commonly known as the V-2
rocket, developed by Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s under direction of
Wernher von Braun. The first successful launch of a V-2 was on October 3, 1942
and began operation on September 6, 1944 against Paris, followed by an attack
on Londontwo days later. By the end of World War II, May 1945, over 3,000 V-2s
had been launched.

8. Ballistic missiles are largely used for land attack missions. Although
normally associated with nuclear weapons, some conventionally armed ballistic
missiles are in service, such as ATACMS. Ballistic missiles are primarily surface
launched from mobile launchers, silos, ships or submarines, with air launch being
theoretically possible using a weapon such as the canceled Sky bolt missile. The
Russian Topol M (SS-27 Sickle B) is the fastest (7,320 m/sec) missile currently in
service.

9. When in space and no more thrust is provided, the missile enters free-
flight. In order to cover large distances, ballistic missiles are usually launched into
a high sub-orbital spaceflight; for intercontinental missiles the highest altitude
(apogee) reached during free-flight is about 1200 km.

10. Ballistic missiles can vary widely in range and use, and are often divided
into categories based on range.Various schemes are used by different countries
to categorize the ranges of ballistic missiles:

(a) Tactical ballistic missile: Range between about 150 km and 300
km

(b) Theatre ballistic missile: Range between 300 km and 3500 km

(c) Intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) or long-range ballistic

missile(LRBM): Range between3 500 km and 5500 km

(d) Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM): Range greater than 5500

km

(e) Submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM): Launched from

ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs).

Part-II:Cruise Missiles

11. A cruise missile is a type of low-flying strategic guided missile that carries
an explosive payload and is propelled, usually by a jet engine, towards its target.
Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead over long distances with
high accuracy. Modern cruise missiles can travel at supersonic or high subsonic
speeds, are self-navigating, and can fly on a non-ballistic, extremely low altitude
trajectory. In a cruise missile, the warhead is integrated into the vehicle and the
vehicle is always sacrificed in the mission.
12. It can also be defined as a dispensable,pilotless,self guided,continuously
powered air breathing vehicle that flies jus like an aeroplane supported by
aerodynamic surfaces and design to deliver a conventional or nuclear device.

13. The German V-1 missile used in World War II was a precursor of the
cruise missile, which was developed by the United States and the Soviet Union in
the 1960s and ’70s. The V-1 contained a gyroscopic guidance system and was
propelled by a simple pulse-jet engine, the sound of which gave it the nickname
of "buzz bomb". The V-1 and similar early weapons are often referred to as flying
bombs.

14. Cruise missiles generally consist of a guidance system, payload, and

propulsion system, housed in an airframe with small wings and empennage for
flight control. Payloads usually consist of a conventional warhead or a nuclear
warhead. Cruise missiles tend to be propelled by a jet engine, turbofan engines
being preferred due to their greater efficiency at low altitude and sub-sonic
speed. Cruise missiles are generally associated with land attack operations, but
also have an important role as anti-shipping weapons. They are primarily
launched from air, sea or submarine platforms in both roles, although land based
launchers also exist. The most common mission for cruise missiles is to attack
relatively high-value targets such as ships, command bunkers, bridges and
dams.

15. Cruise missiles can be categorized by size, speed (subsonic or

supersonic), and range, and whether launched from land, air, surface ship, or
submarine.

(a) Hypersonic: A hypersonic cruise missile would travel at least 5

times the speed of sound.
 Examples:
(i) ArcLight (Missile) United States
(ii) Brahmos-II India/ Russia

(b) Supersonic: Such missiles travel faster than the speed of sound,
usually using ramjet engines. The range is typically 100–500 km, but can
be greater. Guidance systems vary.

Examples:
(i) BrahMos Block-I/II India/ Russia
(ii) KD-88 China, Kh-31 Russia
(iii) ASMP France

(c) Long-range subsonic: Such missiles have a range of over 1,000

kilometers (620 mi) and fly at about 800 kilometers per hour (500 mph).

Examples:
(i) AGM-86B United States
(ii) AGM-129 ACM United States
(iii) BGM-109 Tomahawk United States/ United Kingdom
(iv) CJ-10 People's Republic of China
(v) DH-10 People's Republic of China

(d) Medium-range subsonic: These missiles are about the same size
and weight and fly at similar speeds to the above category, but the range
is (officially).

Examples:
(i) AGM-158 JASSM United States (in development)
(ii) Babur Pakistan
(iii) KD-63 China
 (e) Short-range subsonic : These are subsonic missiles which weigh
around 500 kilograms(1,102 lb) and have a range of 300 km (190 mi).

Examples:
(i) Boeing AGM-84 Harpoon United States
(ii) C-801 China
(iii) C-802 China
(iv) C-602 China
(v) Delilah missile Israel

Conclusion

16. Strategic missiles whether ballistic or cruise both can be used to target at
a military base or city according to a premeditated war plan. Both ballistic and
cruise missiles can be armed with a nuclear warhead, so both could be
considered strategic weapons. However, cruise missiles are typically much
smaller than their ballistic relatives with a correspondingly smaller payload and
range. Such missiles are not influenced by weather condition as they are
launched and guided accurately to the target with all the correction for winds,
atmospheric condition and other factors automatically made in flight. They can be
of various categories such as surface to air, surface to surface or air to surface.