A cruise missile is a

guided missile In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket ...

used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the

atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...

and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large

warhead A warhead is the forward section of a device that contains the explosive agent or toxic (biological, chemical, or nuclear) material that is delivered by a missile, rocket, torpedo, or bomb. Classification Types of warheads include: * Explosiv ...

over long distances with high precision. Modern cruise missiles are capable of travelling at high subsonic,

supersonic Supersonic speed is the speed of an object that exceeds the speed of sound ( Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at sea level, this speed is approximately . Speeds greater than five times ...

, or

hypersonic In aerodynamics, a hypersonic speed is one that exceeds 5 times the speed of sound, often stated as starting at speeds of Mach 5 and above. The precise Mach number at which a craft can be said to be flying at hypersonic speed varies, since in ...

speeds, are self-navigating, and are able to fly on a non-

ballistic Ballistics may refer to: Science * Ballistics, the science that deals with the motion, behavior, and effects of projectiles ** Forensic ballistics, the science of analyzing firearm usage in crimes ** Internal ballistics, the study of the proc ...

, extremely low-altitude trajectory.

History

The idea of an "aerial torpedo" was shown in the British 1909 film ''

The Airship Destroyer ''The Airship Destroyer'' (originally titled Der Luftkrieg Der Zukunft, also titled "The Aerial Torpedo", "The Battle of the Clouds" and "The Battle in the Clouds" ) is a 1909 British silent science fiction film directed by Walter R. Booth. P ...

'' in which flying torpedoes controlled wirelessly are used to bring down airships bombing

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. In 1916, the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

Lawrence Sperry Lawrence Burst Sperry (21 December 1892, Chicago, Illinois, United States – December 13, 1923, English Channel) was an aviation pioneer who invented the autopilot and the artificial horizon. Biography He was the third son of the gyrocompa ...

built and patented an "aerial torpedo", the

Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane The Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane was a project undertaken during World War I to develop a flying bomb, or pilotless aircraft capable of carrying explosives to its target. It is considered by some to be a precursor of the cruise missile. Co ...

, a small

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

carrying a

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

charge, a Sperry

autopilot An autopilot is a system used to control the path of an aircraft, marine craft or spacecraft without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator' ...

and a barometric altitude control. Inspired by the experiments, the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

developed a similar flying bomb called the

Kettering Bug The Kettering Bug was an experimental unmanned aerial torpedo, a forerunner of present-day cruise missiles. It was capable of striking ground targets up to from its launch point, while traveling at speeds of . The Bug's costly design and operat ...

. Germany had also flown trials with remote-controlled aerial gliders ''(Torpedogleiter)'' built by

Siemens-Schuckert Siemens-Schuckert (or Siemens-Schuckertwerke) was a German electrical engineering company headquartered in Berlin, Erlangen and Nuremberg that was incorporated into the Siemens AG in 1966. Siemens Schuckert was founded in 1903 when Siemens & H ...

beginning in 1916. In the Interwar Period, Britain's

Royal Aircraft Establishment The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), bef ...

developed the Larynx (Long Range Gun with Lynx Engine), which underwent a few flight tests in the 1920s. In the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

Sergei Korolev Sergei Pavlovich Korolev (russian: Сергей Павлович Королёв, Sergey Pavlovich Korolyov, sʲɪrˈɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪtɕ kərɐˈlʲɵf, Ru-Sergei Pavlovich Korolev.ogg; ukr, Сергій Павлович Корольов, ...

headed the

GIRD The Moscow-based Group for the Study of Reactive Motion (also 'Group for the Investigation of Reactive Engines and Reactive Flight' and 'Jet Propulsion Study Group') (russian: Группа изучения реактивного движения, ...

-06 cruise missile project from 1932 to 1939, which used a rocket-powered boost-

glide bomb A glide bomb or stand-off bomb is a standoff weapon with flight control surfaces to give it a flatter, gliding flight path than that of a conventional bomb without such surfaces. This allows it to be released at a distance from the target rat ...

design. The 06/III (RP-216) and 06/IV (RP-212) contained

gyroscopic A gyroscope (from Ancient Greek γῦρος ''gŷros'', "round" and σκοπέω ''skopéō'', "to look") is a device used for measuring or maintaining orientation and angular velocity. It is a spinning wheel or disc in which the axis of rot ...

guidance systems. The vehicle was designed to boost to 28 km altitude and glide a distance of 280 km, but test flights in 1934 and 1936 only reached an altitude of 500 meters. In 1944, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Germany deployed the first operational cruise missiles. The

V-1 V1, V01 or V-1 can refer to version one (for anything) (e.g., see version control) V1, V01 or V-1 may also refer to: In aircraft * V-1 flying bomb, a World War II German weapon * V1 speed, the maximum speed at which an aircraft pilot may abort ...

, often called a

flying bomb A flying bomb is a manned or unmanned aerial vehicle or aircraft carrying a large explosive warhead, a precursor to contemporary cruise missiles. In contrast to a bomber aircraft, which is intended to release bombs and then return to its base for ...

, contained a gyroscope guidance system and was propelled by a simple

pulsejet 300px, Diagram of a pulsejet A pulsejet engine (or pulse jet) is a type of jet engine in which combustion occurs in pulses. A pulsejet engine can be made with few or no moving parts, and is capable of running statically (i.e. it does not need ...

engine, the sound of which gave it the nickname of "buzz bomb" or "doodlebug". Accuracy was sufficient only for use against very large targets (the general area of a city), while the range of 250 km was significantly lower than that of a bomber carrying the same payload. The main advantages were speed (although not sufficient to outperform contemporary propeller-driven interceptors) and expendability. The production cost of a V-1 was only a small fraction of that of a

V-2 The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), with the technical name ''Aggregat 4'' (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was develope ...

ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...

with a similar-sized warhead. Unlike the V-2, the initial deployments of the V-1 required stationary launch ramps which were susceptible to bombardment. Nazi Germany, in 1943, also developed the

Mistel ''Mistel'' (German for " mistletoe", a parasitic plant) was the larger, unmanned component of a composite aircraft configuration developed in Germany during the later stages of World War II. The composite comprised a small piloted control airc ...

composite aircraft A composite aircraft is made up of multiple ''component'' craft. It takes off and flies initially as a single aircraft, with the components able to separate in flight and continue as independent aircraft.Harper (1937) Typically the larger aircraf ...

program, which can be seen as a rudimentary air-launched cruise missile, where a piloted fighter-type aircraft was mounted atop an unpiloted bomber-sized aircraft that was packed with explosives to be released while approaching the target. Bomber-launched variants of the V-1 saw limited operational service near the end of the war, with the pioneering V-1's design reverse-engineered by the Americans as the

Republic-Ford JB-2 The Republic-Ford JB-2, also known as the Thunderbug, KGW and LTV-N-2 Loon, was a United States copy of the German V-1 flying bomb. Developed in 1944, and planned to be used in the United States invasion of Japan (Operation Downfall), t ...

cruise missile. Immediately after the war, the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

had 21 different guided missile projects, including would-be cruise missiles. All but four were cancelled by 1948, — the

Air Materiel Command Air Materiel Command (AMC) was a United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force command. Its headquarters was located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. In 1961, the command was redesignated the Air Force Logistics Command wi ...

Banshee, the

SM-62 Snark The Northrop SM-62 Snark is an early-model intercontinental range ground-launched cruise missile that could carry a W39 thermonuclear warhead. The Snark was deployed by the United States Air Force's Strategic Air Command from 1958 through 1961 ...

, the

SM-64 Navaho The North American SM-64 Navaho was a supersonic intercontinental cruise missile project built by North American Aviation (NAA). The final design was capable of delivering a nuclear weapon to the USSR from bases within the US, while cruising at ...

, and the

MGM-1 Matador The Martin MGM-1 Matador was the first operational surface-to-surface cruise missile designed and built by the United States. It was developed after World War II, drawing upon their wartime experience with creating the Republic-Ford JB-2, a ...

. The Banshee design was similar to

Operation Aphrodite Aphrodite and Anvil were the World War II code names of United States Army Air Forces and United States Navy operations to use Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated PB4Y bombers as precision-guided munitions against bunkers and other har ...

; like Aphrodite, it failed, and was cancelled in April 1949. Concurrently, the US Navy's

Operation Bumblebee Operation Bumblebee was a US Navy effort to develop surface to air missiles (SAMs) to provide a mid-range layer of anti-aircraft defence, between anti-aircraft guns in the short range and fighter aircraft operating at long range. A major reason f ...

, was conducted at

Topsail Island Topsail Island (, TOP-sill) is a 26-mile (41.8 km) long barrier island off the coast of North Carolina, roughly equidistant between the barrier islands of the Crystal Coast and the beaches of the Cape Fear (region), Cape Fear region, lying ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, from c. 1 June 1946, to 28 July 1948. Bumblebee produced proof-of-concept technologies that influenced the US military's other missile projects. During the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, both the United States and the Soviet Union experimented further with the concept, deploying early cruise missiles from land, submarines and aircraft. The main outcome of the United States Navy submarine missile project was the SSM-N-8 Regulus missile, based upon the V-1. The United States Air Force's first operational surface-to-surface missile was the winged, mobile, nuclear-capable

, also similar in concept to the V-1. Deployment overseas began in 1954, first to

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

and later to the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

and South Korea. On 7 November 1956, the U.S. Air Force deployed Matador units in West Germany, whose missiles were capable of striking targets in the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...

, from their fixed day-to-day sites to unannounced dispersed launch locations. This alert was in response to the crisis posed by the Soviet attack on Hungary which suppressed the

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

. Between 1957 and 1961 the United States followed an ambitious and well-funded program to develop a nuclear-powered cruise missile, Supersonic Low Altitude Missile (SLAM). It was designed to fly below the enemy's radar at speeds above Mach 3 and carry

hydrogen bombs A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lowe ...

that it would drop along its path over enemy territory. Although the concept was proven sound and the 500

megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units, International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), ...

engine finished a successful test run in 1961, no airworthy device was ever completed. The project was finally abandoned in favor of

ICBM An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons c ...

development. While

s were the preferred weapons for land targets, heavy nuclear and

conventional weapon The terms conventional weapons or conventional arms generally refer to weapons whose ability to damage comes from kinetic, incendiary, or explosive energy and exclude weapons of mass destruction (''e.g.'' nuclear, biological, radiological and c ...

tipped cruise missiles were seen by the USSR as a primary weapon to destroy United States naval

carrier battle group A carrier battle group (CVBG) is a naval fleet consisting of an aircraft carrier capital ship and its large number of escorts, together defining the group. The ''CV'' in ''CVBG'' is the United States Navy hull classification code for an ai ...

s. Large submarines (for example,

Echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...

and

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

classes) were developed to carry these weapons and shadow United States battle groups at sea, and large bombers (for example, Backfire,

Bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

, and

Blackjack Blackjack (formerly Black Jack and Vingt-Un) is a casino banking game. The most widely played casino banking game in the world, it uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as Twenty-One. This fami ...

models) were equipped with the weapons in their air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) configuration.

General design

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

aircraft propulsion A powered aircraft is an aircraft that uses onboard propulsion with mechanical power generated by an aircraft engine of some kind. Aircraft propulsion nearly always uses either a type of propeller, or a form of jet propulsion. Other potential ...

system, housed in an airframe with small wings and

empennage The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third e ...

for flight control. Payloads usually consist of a conventional warhead or a

nuclear warhead A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...

. Cruise missiles tend to be propelled by

jet engine A jet engine is a type of reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet of heated gas (usually air) that generates thrust by jet propulsion. While this broad definition can include rocket, Pump-jet, water jet, and hybrid propulsion, the term ...

, with

turbofan The turbofan or fanjet is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used in aircraft engine, aircraft propulsion. The word "turbofan" is a portmanteau of "turbine" and "fan": the ''turbo'' portion refers to a gas turbine engine which ac ...

engines in particular being preferred due to their greater efficiency at low altitude and subsonic speed.

Guidance systems

Guidance systems also vary greatly. Low-cost systems use a

radar altimeter A radar altimeter (RA), also called a radio altimeter (RALT), electronic altimeter, reflection altimeter, or low-range radio altimeter (LRRA), measures altitude above the terrain presently beneath an aircraft or spacecraft by timing how long it t ...

, barometric altimeter and

clock A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and the ...

to navigate a digital strip

map A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes. Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...

. More advanced systems use

inertial guidance An inertial navigation system (INS) is a navigation device that uses motion sensors ( accelerometers), rotation sensors ( gyroscopes) and a computer to continuously calculate by dead reckoning the position, the orientation, and the velocity ...

satellite guidance A guided bomb (also known as a smart bomb, guided bomb unit, or GBU) is a precision-guided munition designed to achieve a smaller circular error probable (CEP). The creation of precision-guided munitions resulted in the retroactive renaming of ...

and terrain contour matching (TERCOM). Use of an automatic target recognition (ATR) algorithm/device in the guidance system increases accuracy of the missile. The Standoff Land Attack Missile features an ATR unit from

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

Categories

Cruise missiles can be categorized by size, speed (subsonic or supersonic), range, and whether launched from land, air, surface ship, or submarine. Often versions of the same missile are produced for different launch platforms; sometimes air- and submarine-launched versions are a little lighter and smaller than land- and ship-launched versions. Guidance systems can vary across missiles. Some missiles can be fitted with any of a variety of navigation systems (

Inertial navigation An inertial navigation system (INS) is a navigation device that uses motion sensors ( accelerometers), rotation sensors ( gyroscopes) and a computer to continuously calculate by dead reckoning the position, the orientation, and the velocity ...

TERCOM Terrain contour matching, or TERCOM, is a navigation system used primarily by cruise missiles. It uses a pre-recorded contour map of the terrain that is compared with measurements made during flight by an on-board radar altimeter. A TERCOM system ...

, or

satellite navigation A satellite navigation or satnav system is a system that uses satellites to provide autonomous geo-spatial positioning. It allows satellite navigation devices to determine their location (longitude, latitude, and altitude/elevation) to high pr ...

). Larger cruise missiles can carry either a conventional or a nuclear warhead, while smaller ones carry only conventional warheads.

Hypersonic

cruise missile travels at least five times the

speed of sound The speed of sound is the distance travelled per unit of time by a sound wave as it propagates through an elastic medium. At , the speed of sound in air is about , or one kilometre in or one mile in . It depends strongly on temperature as w ...

( Mach 5). * 14-X , a

scramjet A scramjet (supersonic combustion ramjet) is a variant of a ramjet airbreathing jet engine in which combustion takes place in supersonic airflow. As in ramjets, a scramjet relies on high vehicle speed to compress the incoming air forcefully ...

engine currently under development by Brazil. * 3M22 Zircon (>1000–1500 km)

anti-ship cruise missile. * ASN4G (Air-Sol Nucléaire de 4e Génération) , a

-powered hypersonic cruise missile *

BrahMos-II BrahMos-II or BrahMos-2 or BrahMos Mach II (note:Not to be confused with the BrahMos block II) is a hypersonic cruise missile currently under joint development by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation and Russia's NPO Mashinostroye ...

(≈800–1000 km) /, a hypersonic missile under development in India and Russia. * FC/ASW (300 km) (under development) – Franco-British stealth hypersonic cruise missile concept.Janes – Perseus: MBDA's missile of the future?
* HTDV - hypersonic scramjet demonstration a carrier vehicle for hypersonic and long-range cruise missiles is being developed by

Defence Research and Development Organisation The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) (IAST: ''Raksā Anūsandhān Evam Vikās Sangaṭhan'') is the premier agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, ...

(DRDO). * Hyfly-2 - air-launched

cruise missile first displayed at Sea Air Space 2021, developed by

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...

Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept The Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC, pronounced "hawk") is a scramjet powered air-launched hypersonic cruise missile project at the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), that had a successful hypersonic flight an ...

(HAWC, pronounced Hawk) -

powered air-launched

cruise missile without a

and use its own

kinetic energy In physics, the kinetic energy of an object is the energy that it possesses due to its motion. It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity. Having gained this energy during its accele ...

upon impact to destroy the target, developed by

DARPA The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. Originally known as the Adv ...

Kh-90 The Kh-90 GELA (russian: ГЭЛА (гиперзвуковой экспериментальный летательный аппарат), Hypersonic Experimental Flight Vehicle) is a Soviet/Russian air-to-surface cruise missile. It was supposed t ...

(3,000–4,000 km) / - a hypersonic air-to-surface cruise missile developed in 1990 by the USSR and later by Russia. This missile was designed to cruise from Mach 4 to Mach 6, eventually being able to travel at speeds lower than Mach 10–15. But this cruise-missile system did not enter service. *

Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile The Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM) is a scramjet-powered hypersonic air-launched cruise missile project, the successor of the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) and the SCIFiRE hypersonic programs. Technology developed for ...

(HACM) planned for use by the

. *

SCIFiRE SCIFIRE or the Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment is an American-Australian military technology partnership that is developing a solid-rocket boosted, air-breathing, hypersonic conventional cruise missile that can be launched by ...

/ - Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE) is a joint program between the

US Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

and the Australian

Department of Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

for a Mach 5

powered missile. In September 2021, the US Department of Defense awarded Preliminary Design Review contracts to

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...

and

Raytheon Missiles & Defense Raytheon Missiles & Defense (RMD) is one of four business segments of Raytheon Technologies. Headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, its president is Wes Kremer. The business produces a broad portfolio of advanced technologies, including air and missi ...

Supersonic

These missiles travel faster than the speed of sound, usually using

ramjet A ramjet, or athodyd (aero thermodynamic duct), is a form of airbreathing jet engine that uses the forward motion of the engine to produce thrust. Since it produces no thrust when stationary (no ram air) ramjet-powered vehicles require an ass ...

engines. The range is typically 100–500 km, but can be greater. Guidance systems vary. Examples: * 3M-54 Kalibr (up to 4,500 km) Russia (the "Sizzler" variant is capable of supersonic speed at the terminal stage only) * 3M-51 Alfa (250 km) *

Kh-15 The Raduga Kh-15 or RKV-15 (russian: Х-15; NATO: AS-16 "Kickback"; GRAU:) is a Russian hypersonic aero-ballistic air-to-ground missile carried by the Tupolev Tu-22M and other bombers. Originally developed as a standoff nuclear air-to-ground ...

(300 km) *

AGM-69 SRAM The Boeing AGM-69 SRAM (Short-Range Attack Missile) was a nuclear air-to-surface missile. It had a range of up to , and was intended to allow US Air Force strategic bombers to penetrate Soviet airspace by neutralizing surface-to-air missile de ...

(200 km) United States * Air-Sol Moyenne Portée (300–500 km+) France – supersonic stand-off nuclear missile * South Korea new AShM similar to Brahmos, ramjet * BrahMos (block-I 290 km, Block-II 500 & Block-IIA 600 km) / India / Russia – fastest supersonic cruise missile (3.2 mach) and the only one to complete the tactical cruise missile triad * Blyskavka Artem Luch Pivdenmash 100 – 370 km *

Hsiung Feng III The Hsiung Feng III (HF-3; , "Brave Wind III") is a medium range supersonic missile with capabilities to destroy both land based targets and naval targets developed by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) in Taiwan ...

(400 km) Taiwan *

Yun Feng The Yun Feng ( zh, t=雲峰, l=Cloud Peak) is a supersonic Land-attack missile, land-attack cruise missile of Taiwan. Design and development The missile was developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology and has a range of about ...

(~2,000 km) Taiwan *

KD-88 KD-88 (Kongdi-88) is an anti-ship missile built by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). Its export version is called TL-17. It can be launched from fighter aircraft (JH-7 The Xi'an JH-7 ( – fighter-bomber; NATO rep ...

China *

Kh-20 The Raduga Kh-20 (NATO reporting name: AS-3 Kangaroo) was an air launched cruise missile armed with a thermonuclear warhead which was developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The Kh-20 was designed to be air-launched. Background Kh-20 ...

(380–600 km) USSR * Kh-31 (25–110 km) Russia *

Kh-32 Kh-32 (russian: Х-32) is a Russian supersonic air-launched cruise missile with a range of 600–1000 km developed by the MKB Raduga from the Kh-22. The missile was accepted to service in 2016 as armament for the Tu-22M3M bombers. Histor ...

(600–1,000 km) Russia *

Kh-61 The P-800 Oniks (russian: П-800 Оникс; en, Onyx), also known in export markets as Yakhont (russian: Яхонт; en, ruby), is a Soviet / Russian supersonic anti-ship cruise missile developed by NPO Mashinostroyeniya as a ramjet version of ...

/ USSR / Russia *

Kh-80 The Kh-80 Meteorit-A ( GRAU-code: 3M25A, NATO: AS-X-19 Koala), the RK-75 Meteorit-N ''(GRAU:'' 3M25N, ''NATO:'' SS-NX-24 Scorpion) and the P-750 Meteorit-M ( Russian: П-750 Гром, ''GRAU:'' 3М25, ''NATO'': SSC-X-5) was a Soviet cruise missile ...

(3,000–5,000 km) / *

P-270 Moskit The P-270 Moskit (russian: П-270 «Москит»; en, Mosquito) is a Soviet supersonic ramjet powered anti-ship cruise missile. Its GRAU designation is 3M80, air launched variant is the Kh-41 and its NATO reporting name is SS-N-22 Sunburn ...

(120–250 km) / USSR / Russia *

P-500 Bazalt The P-500 ''Bazalt'' (russian: П-500 «Базальт»; en, basalt) is a turbojet-powered, supersonic cruise missile used by the Soviet and Russian navies. Its GRAU designation is 4K80 and its NATO reporting name is SS-N-12 ''Sandbox'', its ...

(550 km) / USSR / Russia *

P-700 Granit The P-700 ''Granit'' (russian: П-700 "Гранит"; en, granite) is a Soviet and Russian naval anti-ship cruise missile. Its GRAU designation is 3M45, its NATO reporting name SS-N-19 ''Shipwreck''. It comes in surface-to-surface and subma ...

(625 km) / USSR / Russia *

P-800 Oniks The P-800 Oniks (russian: П-800 Оникс; en, Onyx), also known in export markets as Yakhont (russian: Яхонт; en, ruby), is a Soviet / Russian supersonic anti-ship cruise missile developed by NPO Mashinostroyeniya as a ramjet version ...

(600–800 km) Russia *

P-1000 Vulkan The P-500 ''Bazalt'' (russian: П-500 «Базальт»; en, basalt) is a turbojet-powered, supersonic cruise missile used by the Soviet and Russian navies. Its GRAU designation is 4K80 and its NATO reporting name is SS-N-12 ''Sandbox'', its ...

(800 km) / USSR / Russia *

DF-100 The CJ-100 (), also known as DF-100 (), is a Chinese Strategic long range land-attack hypersonic cruise missile. The missile system is reportedly capable of engaging land-based facilities, reinforced targets, underground bunkers and moving warsh ...

China *

C-101 The C-101 is a Chinese supersonic anti-ship cruise missile. It is manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation The China Aerospace Science & Industry Corporation Limited (CASIC) is a Chinese state-owned enterprise ...

China *

C-301 The SY (), and HY () series were early anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCM) developed by the People's Republic of China from the Soviet P-15 Termit missile. They entered service in the late 1960s and remained the main ASCMs deployed by the People's ...

China *

C-803 The YJ-83 (; NATO reporting name: CSS-N-8 Saccade) is a Chinese subsonic anti-ship cruise missile. It is manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Third Academy.Gromley et al.: page 101 Description The YJ-83 uses m ...

China – supersonic terminal stage only *

C-805 The YJ-83 (; NATO reporting name: CSS-N-8 Saccade) is a Chinese subsonic anti-ship cruise missile. It is manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Third Academy.Gromley et al.: page 101 Description The YJ-83 uses ...

China * CX-1 China *

YJ-12 The YJ-12 () is a Chinese supersonic anti-ship cruise missile. Description The YJ-12 is an air-launched missile that resembles a lengthened Kh-31 and is close in shape to the GQM-163 Coyote aerial target. A 2011 article in the United States N ...

(250–400 km) China *

YJ-18 The YJ-18 (, NATO designation CH-SS-NX-13) is a Chinese family of anti-ship and land attack cruise missiles. Description The United States Department of Defense believes the YJ-18 is similar to the Russian 3M-54 Klub, with a subsonic cruise m ...

(220–540 km) China *

YJ-91 The YJ-91 () is an anti-radiation air-to-surface cruise missile produced by the People's Republic of China. It is a derivative of the Zvezda-Strela , type = Joint-stock company , location = , industry = Defense industryAerospace industry ...

China *

SSM-N-9 Regulus II The SSM-N-9 Regulus II cruise missile is a supersonic guided missile armed with a nuclear warhead, intended for launching from surface ships and submarines of the U.S. Navy (USN).Koch, Charles A"Regulus II cruise missile".''Regulus II Cruise Missi ...

(1,852 km) United States

Intercontinental-range supersonic

9M730 Burevestnik The 9M730 Burevestnik (russian: Буревестник; "Petrel", NATO reporting name: SSC-X-9 Skyfall) is a Russian experimental nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed cruise missile under development for the Russian Armed Forces. The missile has ...

(Unlimited Range) Russia *

Burya The ''Burya'' ("Storm" in Russian; russian: Буря) was a supersonic, intercontinental cruise missile, developed by the Lavochkin design bureau (chief designer Naum Semyonovich Chernyakov) under designation La-350 from 1954 until the program can ...

(8,500 km) USSR * MKR (8,000 km) USSR *

RSS-40 Buran The Buran cruise missile, designation RSS-40, was a Soviet intercontinental cruise missile by Myasishchev capable of carrying a 3,500 kg hydrogen bomb payload. The project was canceled before flight tests began. It is unrelated to the late ...

(8,500 km) USSR *

SLAM Slam, SLAM or SLAMS may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional elements * S.L.A.M. (Strategic Long-Range Artillery Machine), a fictional weapon in the ''G.I. Joe'' universe * SLAMS (Space-Land-Air Missile Shield), a fictional anti-ball ...

(cancelled in 1964) United States *

(10,200 km) United States *

(canceled in 1958) United States

Long-range subsonic

Nirbhay missiles during Republic Day Parade 2018

The United States, Russia, North Korea, India, Iran, South Korea, Israel, France, China and Pakistan have developed several long-range subsonic cruise missiles. These missiles have a range of over and fly at about . They typically have a launch weight of about and can carry either a conventional or a nuclear warhead. Earlier versions of these missiles used

inertial navigation An inertial navigation system (INS) is a navigation device that uses motion sensors ( accelerometers), rotation sensors ( gyroscopes) and a computer to continuously calculate by dead reckoning the position, the orientation, and the velocity ...

; later versions use much more accurate

and

DSMAC Terrain contour matching, or TERCOM, is a navigation system used primarily by cruise missiles. It uses a pre-recorded contour map of the terrain that is compared with measurements made during flight by an on-board radar altimeter. A TERCOM syste ...

systems. Most recent versions can use

. Examples: * 3M-54 Kalibr (up to 4,500 km) Russia *

AGM-86 ALCM The AGM-86 ALCM is an American subsonic air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) built by Boeing and operated by the United States Air Force. This missile was developed to increase the effectiveness and survivability of the Boeing B-52H Stratofortre ...

United States *

AGM-129 ACM The AGM-129 ACM (Advanced Cruise Missile) was a low-observable, subsonic, turbofan-powered, air-launched cruise missile originally designed and built by General Dynamics and eventually acquired by Raytheon Missile Systems. Prior to its withdraw ...

United States * AGM-181 LRSOUnited States *

BGM-109 Tomahawk The Tomahawk () Land Attack Missile (TLAM) is a long-range, all-weather, jet-powered, subsonic cruise missile that is primarily used by the United States Navy and Royal Navy in ship and submarine-based land-attack operations. Under contract f ...

(up to 1,700 km) United States *

BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile The Ground Launched Cruise Missile, or GLCM, (officially designated BGM-109G Gryphon) was a ground-launched cruise missile developed by the United States Air Force in the last decade of the Cold War and disarmed under the INF Treaty. Overview ...

(2,500 km) * Kh-55 (3,000 km) and Kh-65 Russia *

Kh-101 The Kh-55 (russian: Х-55, also known as RKV-500; NATO reporting name: AS-15 "Kent") is a Soviet/Russian subsonic air-launched cruise missile, designed by MKB Raduga in the 1970s. It has a range of up to and can carry nuclear warheads. Kh-5 ...

(4500–5500 km) Russia *

Iskander-K The 9K720 Iskander (russian: «Искандер»; NATO reporting name SS-26 Stone) is a mobile short-range ballistic missile system produced and deployed by the Russian military. The missile systems () are to replace the obsolete OTR-21 ''To ...

not less than 3 500 km * Geumseong 4 North Korea > 1000 2000 km * RK-55 (3,000 km) Soviet Union *

Nirbhay Nirbhay (meaning ''Dauntless/Fearless'') is a long range, all-weather, subsonic cruise missile designed and developed in India by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) which is under Defence Research and Development Organisation (DR ...

India (up to 1500 km) * Meshkat Iran (Range 2000 km) * MdCN (>1,000 km) France * Soumar Iran (Range allegedly 2,000–3,000 km) * Hoveyzeh (Cruise Missile) Iran (Range 1,350 km) * Quds 1 Houthi *

Hsiung Feng IIE The Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E; ) is a surface-to-surface cruise missile system developed by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) in Taiwan. Development According to ''Taiwan Defense Review'' (TDR), the HF-2E land atta ...

Taiwan *

Hyunmoo III The Hyunmoo-3 is a cruise missile fielded by the South Korean military designed by Agency for Defense Development (ADD). The name Hyunmoo () comes from a mythical beast described as the "Guardian of the Northern Sky", perhaps hinting North Kore ...

South Korea (Hyunmoo IIIA-500 km, Hyunmoo IIIB-1000 km, Hyunmoo IIIC-1500 km) * Type 12 SSM Japan *

MGM-13 Mace The Martin Mace was a ground-launched cruise missile developed from the earlier Martin TM-61 Matador. It used a new self-contained navigation system that eliminated the need to get updates from ground-based radio stations, and thereby allowed i ...

United States * DF-10/CJ-10 China (CJ-10K - 1500 km, CJ-20 - 2000 km) * Popeye Turbo SLCM Israel * GEZGİN (800-1,200 km) Turkey

Medium-range subsonic

These missiles are about the same size and weight and fly at similar speeds to the above category. Guidance systems vary. Examples: *

Storm Shadow Storm Shadow is an Anglo-French low-observable, long-range, air-launched cruise missile developed since 1994 by Matra and British Aerospace, and now manufactured by MBDA. Storm Shadow is the weapon's British appellation. In French service, it is ...

/SCALP (560 km) / France/UK *

Taurus KEPD 350 Taurus KEPD 350 is a Swedish-German air-launched cruise missile, manufactured by Taurus Systems and used by Germany, Spain, and South Korea. Taurus Systems GmbH is a partnership between MBDA Deutschland GmbH (formerly LFK) and Saab Bofors Dynam ...

(500+ km) // Germany / Sweden / Spain * Kh-50 (Kh-SD) and Kh-101 Kh-65 variants Russia *

P-5 Pyatyorka The P-5 ''"Pyatyorka"'' (russian: П-5 «Пятёрка»; "Pyatyorka", "fiver" in English), also known by the NATO codename SS-N-3C Shaddock, is a Cold War era turbojet-powered cruise missile of the Soviet Union, designed by the Chelomey desig ...

(450–750 km) Russia, North Korea * Raad Iran (360 km) * Ya-Ali (700 km) Iran * Hyunmoo-3 (within 1500 km) South Korea * Babur-1 Pakistan (300 km) * Babur-1 A Pakistan (450 km) * Babur-1 B Pakistan (600+ km) * Babur-2 Pakistan (650 km) * Babur-3 Pakistan (450 km) * Ra'ad ALCM (350 km) Pakistan * Ra'ad Mark-2 ALCM (400 km) Pakistan * Zarb (320 km) Pakistan *

Harbah Babur (Urdu: بابر; named after the first Mughal Emperor Zahir-ud-Din Babur), military designated: Hatf-VII, ''Translit'': ''Target–7'', is a Pakistani medium range turbojet powered subsonic cruise missile that can be launched from lan ...

(250–450 km) Pakistan * KD-63 China * SOM (SOM B Block I) Turkey (350 km range under serial production, 500 km + range under development) – 500 km, 1500 km and 2500 km versions * AGM-158 JASSM (370–1900 km) United States *

AGM-158C LRASM The AGM-158C LRASM (Long Range Anti-Ship Missile) is a stealthy anti-ship cruise missile developed for the United States Air Force and United States Navy by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The LRASM was intended to pionee ...

(USA) (370 km+-560 km+) United States *

(700 km) United States * SSM-N-8 Regulus (926 km) United States

Short-range subsonic

These are subsonic missiles that weigh around and have a range of up to . NSM PICT0001

Examples: *

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

(100–140 km) France * AVMT-300 (300 km) Brazil * MICLA-BR (300 km) Brazil * Hyunmoo-3 (over 300 km) shorter range South Korea *

SSM-700K Haeseong The SSM-700K C-Star (Haeseong) (, Sea Star) is a ship-launched sea-skimming surface-to-surface anti-ship cruise missile developed by the South Korean Agency for Defense Development (ADD), LIG Nex1 and the Republic of Korea Navy in 2003. The mi ...

(180+ km) South Korea *

Kh-35 The Zvezda Kh-35 (russian: Х-35 , AS-20 'Kayak') is a Soviet turbojet subsonic cruise anti-ship missile. The missile can be launched from helicopters, surface ships and coastal defence batteries with the help of a rocket booster, in which c ...

(130–300 km) Russia, KN-19 Ks3/4 North Korea *

Kh-59 The Kh-59 ''Ovod'' (russian: Х-59 Овод ' Gadfly'; AS-13 'Kingbolt') is a Russian TV-guided cruise missile with a two-stage solid-fuel propulsion system and 200 km range. The Kh-59M ''Ovod-M'' (AS-18 'Kazoo') is a variant with a bigger war ...

(115–550 km) Russia * P-15 (40–80 km) Russia, KN-1 North Korea * Nasr-1 Iran * Zafar (25 km) Iran * Noor Iran * Qader Iran *

Naval Strike Missile The Naval Strike Missile (NSM) is an anti-ship and land-attack missile developed by the Norwegian company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA). The original Norwegian name was Nytt sjømålsmissil (literally ''New sea target missile'', indicatin ...

(185–555 km) Norway *

RBS-15 The RBS 15 (Robotsystem 15) is a long-range fire-and-forget surface-to-surface and air-to-surface anti-ship missile. The later version Mk. III has the ability to attack land targets as well. The missile was developed by the Swedish company Sa ...

Sweden *

Korshun This is a complete list of variants and designations of the BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle (IFV). It is sorted by country of origin. Variants Soviet Union Infantry fighting vehicles * BMP (Ob'yekt 764) – The original main prototype of the ...

a locally derivative of Kh-55 and RK-55, made by Artem Luch Vizar (ZhMZ), KhAZ,
Yuzhnoe Pivdenmash, powered by an AI Progress Motor Sich MS-400 like Neptun missile and same builders designer. *

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...

Ukraine *

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...

(250 km) Nazi Germany Hsiung Feng II Anti-Ship Missile Display in Chengkungling 20111009a

Hsiung Feng II The Hsiung Feng II (HF-2; , "Brave Wind II") is an anti-ship missile system developed by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) in Taiwan. The HF-2 is designed to be deployed aboard ships or at facilities on land. ...

Taiwan *

Wan Chien The Wan Chien (; Tâi-lô: bān-kiàm) is an air to ground cruise missile developed and produced by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) of Taiwan. Design and development It partly resembles the AGM-154 Joint Sta ...

Taiwan *

VCM-01 VCM-01 ("VCM" likely stands for ''"Vietnamese Cruise Missile"'') is a family of Vietnamese subsonic anti-surface cruise missiles that is being developed by the Viettel Aerospace Institute (VTX). Little information has been officially and public ...

Vietnam 100–300 km * Aist Belarus 100 200 – 300 km *

Marte Marte may refer to: *Marte, Nigeria, a Local Government Area in Borno State *Marte (surname), including a list of people with the name * C.D. Marte, a Mexican football club *C.D. Atlético Marte, a Salvadoran football club * ST ''Marte'', a tug in ...

ER 100+ km :

Sea Killer Sea Killer is an Italian anti-ship missile family. The latest development of the system is known as Marte. Marte is a sea skimming, subsonic, anti-ship missile, it carries a semi-armour piercing warhead. It has been built in several versions, ...

export variant *

Otomat The Otomat is an anti-ship and coastal defence missile developed by the Italian company Oto Melara jointly with Matra and now made by MBDA. The name comes, for the first versions, from the name of the two builders ("Oto Melara" and "Matra") an ...

(180 km) / France / Italy : Otomat Mk2 E / Teseo Mk2/E 360 km new turbofan *

C-801 The YJ-8 (; NATO reporting name: CSS-N-4 Sardine) is a People's Republic of China, Chinese surface-launched subsonic anti-ship missile, anti-ship cruise missile. It is manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) Th ...

(40 km) China * C-802 (120–230 km) China *

China *

C-602 The YJ-62 () is a Chinese subsonic anti-ship cruise missile. It is manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Third Academy. Description In a September 2014 article published in Joint Forces Quarterly, the YJ-62 is c ...

China * CM-602G China *

Delilah missile The Delilah missile is a cruise missile or loitering munition developed in Israel by Israel Military Industries (IMI). It is designed to target moving and re-locatable targets with a circular error probable (CEP) of . Unlike a typical cruise missi ...

(250 km) Israel * Gabriel IV (200 km) Israel * Popeye turbo ALCM (78 km) Israel *

RGM-84 Harpoon The Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing Defense, Space & Security). The AGM-84E Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM) and later AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER (Standoff Land Attack ...

(124–310 km) United States *

AGM-84E Standoff Land Attack Missile The AGM-84E SLAM (Standoff Land Attack Missile) was a subsonic, over-the-horizon air-launched cruise missile that was developed by McDonnell Douglas from the AGM-84 Harpoon antiship missile. The SLAM was designed to provide all-weather, day and ...

(110 km) United States *

AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER The AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER (Standoff Land Attack Missile-Expanded Response) is an advanced stand off precision-guided, air-launched cruise missile produced by Boeing Defense, Space & Security for the United States Armed Forces and their allies. Deve ...

(270 km) United States *

Silkworm The domestic silk moth (''Bombyx mori''), is an insect from the moth family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of ''Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of a silk moth. It is an economically imp ...

(100–500 km) China * SOM Turkey * Atmaca Turkey * Çakır Turkey

Deployment

The most common mission for cruise missiles is to attack relatively high-value targets such as ships, command bunkers, bridges and dams. Modern guidance systems permit accurate attacks. , the BGM-109

Tomahawk missile The Tomahawk () Land Attack Missile (TLAM) is a long-range, all-weather, jet-powered, subsonic cruise missile that is primarily used by the United States Navy and Royal Navy in ship and submarine-based land-attack operations. Under contract fr ...

model has become a significant part of the United States naval arsenal. It gives ships and submarines an extremely accurate, long-range, conventional land attack weapon. Each costs about US$1.99 million. Both the Tomahawk and the AGM-86 were used extensively during

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

. On 7 April 2017, during the Syrian Civil War, U.S. warships fired more than 50 cruise missiles into a Syrian air base in retaliation for a Syrian Sarin gas attack against a rebel stronghold. The

(USAF) deploys an air-launched cruise missile, the

. The

Boeing B-52 Stratofortress The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...

is the exclusive delivery vehicle for the AGM-86 and

. Both missile types are configurable for either conventional or nuclear warheads. The USAF adopted the AGM-86 for its bomber fleet while AGM-109 was adapted to launch from trucks and ships and adopted by the USAF and Navy. The truck-launched versions, and also the Pershing II and SS-20 Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles, were later destroyed under the bilateral INF (Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces) treaty with the USSR. The British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

(RN) also operates cruise missiles, specifically the U.S.-made Tomahawk, used by the RN's nuclear submarine fleet. UK conventional warhead versions were first fired in combat by the RN in 1999, during the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...

(the United States fired cruise missiles in 1991). The

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

uses the

cruise missile on its

Typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

and previously its

Tornado GR4 The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing multirole combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom and West Germany. There are three primary Tornado variants: the Tornado IDS (interd ...

aircraft. It is also used by France, where it is known as SCALP EG, and carried by the

Armée de l'Air The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Arm ...

's Mirage 2000 and

Rafale The Dassault Rafale (, literally meaning "gust of wind", and "burst of fire" in a more military sense) is a French twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Equipped with a wide rang ...

aircraft.

India and Russia have jointly developed the supersonic cruise missile BrahMos. There are three versions of the Brahmos: ship/land-launched, air-launched and sub-launched. The ship/land-launched version were operational as of late 2007. The Brahmos has the capability to attack targets on land. Russia also continues to operate other cruise missiles: the SS-N-12 Sandbox, SS-N-19 Shipwreck,

SS-N-22 Sunburn SS-N-22 Sunburn is the NATO reporting name for two unrelated Soviet anti-ship missiles. Although the missiles were very different, distinguishing between them is difficult because their ship-mounted launching containers were identical. Confusion wa ...

and SS-N-25 Switchblade. Germany and Spain operate the Taurus missile while Pakistan has made the

Babur missile Babur (Urdu: بابر; named after the first Mughal Emperor Zahir-ud-Din Babur), military designated: Hatf-VII, ''Translit'': ''Target–7'', is a Pakistani medium range turbojet powered subsonic cruise missile that can be launched from land ...

Both the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and the

(

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

) have designed several cruise missile variants, such as the well-known C-802, some of which are capable of carrying biological, chemical, nuclear, and conventional warheads.

Nuclear warhead versions

China

China has

CJ-10 The CJ-10 () is a second-generationGormley et al.: p.102 Chinese ground-based land-attack missile.United States Office of the Secretary of Defense: Annual Report To Congress 2015, p.39 It is derived from the Kh-55 missile. It is reportedly manufa ...

land attack cruise missile which is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. Additionally, China appears to have tested a hypersonic cruise missile in August 2021, a claim it denies.

France

The French

Force de Frappe The ''Force de frappe'' (French language, French: "strike force"), or ''Force de dissuasion'' ("deterrent force") after 1961,Gunston, Bill. Bombers of the West. New York: Charles Scribner's and Sons; 1973. p104 is the designation of what used to ...

nuclear forces include both land and sea-based bombers with Air-Sol Moyenne Portée (ASMP) high speed medium range nuclear cruise missiles. Two models are in use, ASMP and a newer ASMP-Ameliorer Plus (ASMP-A), which was developed in 1999. An estimated 40 to 50 were produced.

India

India in 2017 successfully flight-tested its indigenous

('Fearless') land-attack cruise missile, which can deliver nuclear warheads to a strike range of 1,000-km. Nirbhay had been flight-tested successfully.

Israel

The

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

reportedly deploy the medium-range air-launched Popeye Turbo ALCM and the Popeye Turbo SLCM medium-long range cruise missile with nuclear warheads on

Dolphin class submarine The ''Dolphin'' class (Hebrew: הצוללות מסדרת דולפין) is a diesel-electric submarine developed in Israel and constructed by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG (HDW) in Kiel, Germany, for the Israeli Navy. The first boats of the c ...

Pakistan

Pakistan currently has four cruise missile systems: the air-launched

Ra'ad The Ra'ad ( ur, رعد, "Thunder") is a Pakistani air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) . The missile was first tested in August 2007. Development and design The Ra'ad is a joint project developed by Pakistan Air Force's Air Weapons Complex and ...

and its enhanced version Ra'ad II; the ground and underwater launched

Babur Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his ...

; ship-launched

missile and surface launched

Zarb missile Zarb may refer to: a common Maltese surname. Zarb is a Semitic name, and is phonetically similar to other names in Middle Eastern countries such as the Lebanese "Harb". Surname *Frank Zarb (born 1935), American businessman and former Republican ...

. Both,

and

, can carry nuclear warheads between 10 and 25 kt, and deliver them to targets at a range of up to and respectively. Babur has been in service with the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

since 2010.

Russia

Russia has Kh-55SM cruise missiles, with a range similar to the United States'

AGM-129 The AGM-129 ACM (Advanced Cruise Missile) was a stealth aircraft, low-observable, subsonic, turbofan-powered, air-launched cruise missile originally designed and built by General Dynamics and eventually acquired by Raytheon Missile Systems. Prior ...

range of 3000 km, but are able to carry a more powerful warhead of 200 kt. They are equipped with a

system which allows them to cruise at an altitude lower than 110 meters at subsonic speeds while obtaining a CEP accuracy of 15 meters with an

inertial navigation system An inertial navigation system (INS) is a navigation device that uses motion sensors (accelerometers), rotation sensors ( gyroscopes) and a computer to continuously calculate by dead reckoning the position, the orientation, and the velocity (dire ...

. They are air-launched from either

Tupolev Tu-95 The Tupolev Tu-95 (russian: Туполев Ту-95; NATO reporting name: "Bear") is a large, four-engine turboprop-powered strategic bomber and missile platform. First flown in 1952, the Tu-95 entered service with the Long-Range Aviation of the ...

Tupolev Tu-22M The Tupolev Tu-22M (russian: Туполев Ту-22М; NATO reporting name: Backfire) is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing, long-range strategic and maritime strike bomber developed by the Tupolev, Tupolev Design Bureau in the 1960s. According ...

s, or Tupolev Tu-160s, each able to carry 16 for the Tu-95, 12 for the Tu-160, and 4 for the Tu-22M. A stealth version of the missile, the Kh-101 is in development. It has similar qualities as the Kh-55, except that its range has been extended to 5,000 km, equipped with a 1,000 kg conventional warhead, and has stealth features which reduces its probability of intercept. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the most recent cruise missile developed was the Kalibr missile which entered production in the early 1990s and officially inducted into the Russian arsenal in 1994. However, it only saw its combat debut on 7 October 2015, in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

as a part of the Russian military campaign in Syria. The missile has been used 14 more times in combat operations in Syria since its debut. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Soviet Union was attempting to develop cruise missiles. In this short time frame, the Soviet Union was working on nearly ten different types of cruise missiles. However, due to resources, most of the initial types of cruise missiles developed by the Soviet Union were Sea-Launched Cruise Missiles or Submarine-Launched Cruise Missiles ( SLCMs). The

SS-N-1 The KSShch (russian: Корабельный снаряд «Щука» (КСЩ); Romanization of Russian, tr.:''Korabelny snaryad Shchuka (KSShch)''; en, Shchuka Anti-Ship Missile, "Shchuka" – Pike (fish), pike in English) was a Soviet Union ...

cruise missile was developed to have different configurations to be fired from a submarine or a ship. However, as the time progressed, the Soviet Union began to work on air launched cruise missiles as well ( ALCM). These ACLM missiles were typically delivered via bombers designated as "Blinders" or "Backfire". The missiles in this configuration were called the AS-1, and AS-2 with eventual new variants with more development time. The main purpose of Soviet-based cruise missiles was to have defense and offensive mechanisms against enemy ships; in other words most of the Soviet cruise missiles were anti-ship missiles. the 1980s the Soviet Union had developed an arsenal of cruise missiles nearing 600 platforms which consisted of land, sea, and air delivery systems.

United States

The United States has deployed nine nuclear cruise missiles at one time or another. *

ground-launched missile, out of service *

ground-launched missile, out of service * SSM-N-8 Regulus submarine-launched missile, out of service *

ground-launched missile, out of service *

AGM-28 Hound Dog The North American Aviation AGM-28 Hound Dog was a supersonic, turbojet-propelled, nuclear armed, air-launched cruise missile developed in 1959 for the United States Air Force. It was primarily designed to be capable of attacking Soviet gr ...

air-launched missile, out of service *

, out of service *

air-launched cruise missile, 350 to 550 missiles and W80 warheads still in service *

cruise missile in nuclear submarine-, surface ship-, and ground-launched models, nuclear models out of service but warheads kept in reserve. *

air-launched missile, out of service

Efficiency in modern warfare

Currently cruise missiles are among the most expensive of single-use weapons, up to several million dollars apiece. One consequence of this is that its users face difficult choices in target allocation, to avoid expending the missiles on targets of low value. For instance, during the 2001 strikes on Afghanistan the United States attacked targets of very low monetary value with cruise missiles, which led many to question the efficiency of the weapon. However, proponents of the cruise missile counter that the weapon can not be blamed for poor target selection and the same argument applies to other types of

UAV An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controlle ...

s: they are cheaper than human pilots when total training and infrastructure costs are taken into account, not to mention the risk of loss of personnel. As demonstrated in Libya in 2011 and prior conflicts, cruise missiles are much more difficult to detect and intercept than other aerial assets (reduced radar cross-section, infrared and visual signature due to smaller size), suiting them to attacks against static air defense systems.

References

https://uslivenic.com/3m22-zircon-missile-russias-fastest-missile/

External links

*
3M22 Zircon missile – Russia’s fastest missile.

Cruise MissileRussia Cruise missile
ttps://fas.org/nuke/intro/cm/index.html An introduction to cruise missiles{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411115104/http://fas.org/nuke/intro/cm/index.html , date=11 April 2016 — From the website of the Federation of American Scientists (FAS)
Missile_Threat:_A_Project_of_the_Center_for_Strategic_and_International_Studies
.html" ;"title="Center for Strategic and International Studies">Missile Threat: A Project of the Center_for_Strategic_and_International_Studies">Missile_Threat:_A_Project_of_the_Center_for_Strategic_and_International_Studies
{{Missile_types {{Authority_control {{DEFAULTSORT:Cruise_Missile Cruise_missiles.html" ;"title="Center for Strategic and International Studies
">Center for Strategic and International Studies">Missile Threat: A Project of the Center for Strategic and International Studies
{{Missile types {{Authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Cruise Missile Cruise missiles"> Missile types Low flying

History

General design

Guidance systems

Categories

Hypersonic

Supersonic

Intercontinental-range supersonic

Long-range subsonic

Medium-range subsonic

Short-range subsonic

Deployment

Nuclear warhead versions

China

France

India

Israel

Pakistan

Russia

United States

Efficiency in modern warfare

See also

References

External links