There are 1224 users online
You can register for a user account here.
Login
Military Photos
Main Menu
Online
Past Articles
Military Quotes
I feel that retired generals should never miss an opportunity to remain silent concerning matters for which they are no longer responsible. -- General H. Norman Schwarzkopf |
A ballistic missile is a missile that follows a prescribed course that cannot be signifigantly altered after the missile has burned its fuel (its course is governed by the laws of ballistics). In order to cover large distances ballistic missiles are usually launched very high into the air or in space, in a sub-orbital spaceflight; for intercontinental missiles the altitude halfway is ca. 1200 km. When in space and no more thrust is provided, the missiles are in freefall.
Long and medium range ballistic missiles are generally designed to deliver nuclear warheads because their payload is too limited for conventional explosives to be efficient. Many advanced ballistic missiles have several rocket stages and their course can be slightly adjusted from one stage to the next. Ballistic missiles can vary widely in range and use, and are often divided into categories based on range. The US distinguishes: Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM): range greater than 5500 km Intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM): range between 3000 and 5500 km Medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM): range between 1000 and 3000 km Short-Range Ballistic Missile (SRBM): range less than 1000 km. An example is the Scud. Medium to short range missiles are often called theatre ballistic missiles (TBM). Using a missile with a considerably longer range than the distance from launch site to target can make sense: it can reach a higher altitude and come down with a higher speed, making defense more difficult. E.g. a missile with a range 3000 km fired at a target that is only 500 km away could arrive at its target after having reached an altitude of about 1200 km - roughly the height reached by ICBMs. Like them, it would arrive at a speed of typically more than 6 km/s. The first ballistic missile was the V-2 rocket, developed by Nazi Germany in the 1940s, which was successfully launched for the first time on October 3, 1942 and used for the first time in operation on September 8, 1944. Specific types of ballistic missiles include: Ghauri missile Agni missile Blue Steel missile Shaheen missile Blue Streak missile Minuteman missile Hatf missie SS-24 missile SS-18 missile Peacekeeper missile Polaris missile Poseidon missile Prithvi missile CSS-2 missile Condor missile Jericho missile Nodong-1 Scud Shahab-3 Shahab-4 Shahab-5 Skybolt ALBM Trident V-2 Surya ICBM Pluton Hades ASMP M45 M51 M5 launched from fixed sites, mobile launchers and submarines. Specific types of ballistic missile submarines include: Benjamin Franklin class submarine Ohio class submarine Resolution class submarine Triomphant class Redoutable class |
Military History
Forum Posts
This Day in History
1779:
The War of Bavarian Succession ends.
1846: The United States declares war on Mexico after fighting has already begun. 1861: Britain declares its neutrality in the American Civil War. 1861: Union troops occupy Baltimore. 1864: The Battle of Resaca commences as Union General Sherman fights towards Atlanta. 1864: The struggle for the Bloody Angle at Spotsylvania concludes. 1940: Winston Churchill takes the helm as Great Britains new prime minister. 1944: Allied forces in Italy break through the German Gustav Line into the Liri Valley. 1958: French troops take control of Algiers. 1968: Peace talks between the United States and North Vietnam begin in Paris. |