depressed trajectory
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A ballistic missile is a type of
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 rocke ...
that uses
projectile motion Projectile motion is a form of motion experienced by an object or particle (a projectile) that is projected in a gravitational field, such as from Earth's surface, and moves along a curved path under the action of gravity only. In the particul ...
to deliver
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: * Expl ...
s 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 Earth's atmosphere, while intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) are launched on a sub-orbital flight. These weapons are in a distinct category from cruise missiles, which are aerodynamically guided in powered flight. Unlike cruise missiles, which are restricted to the atmosphere, it is advantageous for ballistic missiles to avoid the denser parts of the atmosphere and they may travel above the atmosphere into
outer space Outer space, commonly shortened to space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and its atmosphere and between celestial bodies. Outer space is not completely empty—it is a near-perfect vacuum containing a low density of particles, pred ...
.


History

The earliest form of ballistic missile dates from the 13th century with its use derived from the history of rockets. In the 14th century, the Ming Chinese navy used an early form of a ballistic missile weapon called the Huolongchushui in naval battles against enemy ships.Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 508-510. A modern pioneer ballistic missile was the A-4, commonly known as the V-2 developed by
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
in the 1930s and 1940s under the direction of
Wernher von Braun Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun ( , ; 23 March 191216 June 1977) was a German and American aerospace engineer and space architect. He was a member of the Nazi Party and Allgemeine SS, as well as the leading figure in the develop ...
. The first successful launch of a V-2 was on October 3, 1942, and it began operation on September 6, 1944, against
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, followed by an attack on London two days later. By the end of World War II in Europe in May 1945, more than 3,000 V-2s had been launched. The R-7 Semyorka was the first intercontinental ballistic missile. In 2010, the U.S. and Russian governments signed a treaty to reduce their inventory of intercontinental ballistic missiles over a seven-year period (to 2017) to 1550 units each.


Flight

An intercontinental ballistic missile
trajectory A trajectory or flight path is the path that an object with mass in motion follows through space as a function of time. In classical mechanics, a trajectory is defined by Hamiltonian mechanics via canonical coordinates; hence, a complete tra ...
consists of three parts: the powered flight portion; the free-flight portion, which constitutes most of the flight time; and the re-entry phase, where the missile re-enters the Earth's atmosphere. The flight phases for shorter-range ballistic missiles are essentially the first two phases of the ICBM, as some ballistic categories do not leave the atmosphere. Ballistic missiles can be launched from fixed sites or mobile launchers, including vehicles (e.g.,
transporter erector launcher A transporter erector launcher (TEL) is a missile vehicle with an integrated tractor unit that can carry, elevate to firing position and launch one or more missiles. History Such vehicles exist for both surface-to-air missiles and surface-to- ...
s),
aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engine ...
, ships, and submarines. The powered flight portion can last from a few tenths of seconds to several minutes and can consist of multiple
rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...
stages. When the fuel is exhausted, no more
thrust Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's third law. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction, the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction to be applied to that sys ...
is provided and the missile enters free flight. In order to cover large distances, ballistic missiles are usually launched into a high
sub-orbital spaceflight A sub-orbital spaceflight is a spaceflight in which the spacecraft reaches outer space, but its trajectory intersects the atmosphere or surface of the gravitating body from which it was launched, so that it will not complete one orbital re ...
; for intercontinental missiles, the highest altitude (
apogee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion. General description There are two apsides in any ell ...
) reached during free-flight is about . The re-entry stage begins at an altitude where atmospheric drag plays a significant part in missile trajectory, and lasts until missile
impact Impact may refer to: * Impact (mechanics), a high force or shock (mechanics) over a short time period * Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US Science and technology * Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event * Impac ...
. Re-entry vehicles re-enter the Earth's atmosphere at very high velocities, on the order of at ICBM ranges.


Types

Ballistic missiles 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: *
Air-launched ballistic missile An air-launched ballistic missile or ALBM is a ballistic missile launched from an aircraft. An ALBM allows the launch aircraft to stand off at long distances from its target, keeping it well outside the range of defensive weapons like anti-aircr ...
(ALBM) *
Tactical ballistic missile A tactical ballistic missile (TBM), or battlefield range ballistic missile (BRBM), is a ballistic missile designed for short-range battlefield use. Typically, range is less than . Tactical ballistic missiles are usually mobile to ensure sur ...
: Range between about *
Theatre ballistic missile A theatre ballistic missile (TBM) is any ballistic missile with a range less than , used against targets " in-theatre". Its range is thus between that of tactical and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. The term is a relatively new one, encomp ...
(TBM): Range between **
Short-range ballistic missile A short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) is a ballistic missile with a range of about or less. In past and potential regional conflicts, these missiles have been and would be used because of the short distances between some countries and their rela ...
(SRBM): Range between ** Medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM): Range between * Intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) or long-range ballistic missile (LRBM): Range between * Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM): Range greater than * Submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM): Launched from ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) Most current designs have intercontinental range with a notable exception of
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n operational SLBM
Sagarika Sagarika Mukherjee (born 4 September 1970), also known as Saag, is an Indian singer and actress. She sings mainly in Hindi, Assamese and Bengali language songs but has also sung in Tamil and Telugu languages. She is the daughter of singer ...
and K-4 as well as
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
's currently operationally deployed KN-11(2nd LD) N.K. leader calls SLBM launch success, boasts of nuke attack capacity
—Yonhap, 25 Aug 2016 08:17am
which might not have intercontinental range. A comparable missile would be the decommissioned China's JL-1 SLBM with a range of less than 2,500 km. Tactical short- and medium-range missiles are often collectively referred to as tactical and theatre ballistic missiles, respectively. Long- and medium-range ballistic missiles are generally designed to deliver
nuclear weapon 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 ...
s because their payload is too limited for conventional explosives to be cost-effective in comparison to conventional
bomber aircraft A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an airc ...
(though the U.S. is evaluating the idea of a conventionally armed ICBM for near-instant global air strike capability, despite the high costs).


Quasi-ballistic missiles

A quasi-ballistic missile (also called a semi-ballistic missile) is a category of missile that has a low trajectory and/or is largely ballistic but can perform maneuvers in flight or make unexpected changes in direction and range. They include
anti-ship ballistic missile An anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) is a military ballistic missile system designed to hit a warship at sea. Due to the often hypersonic flight speed of ballistic missiles an ASBM's kinetic energy alone may be sufficient to cripple or outri ...
s. At a lower trajectory than a ballistic missile, a quasi-ballistic missile can maintain higher speed, thus allowing its target less time to react to the attack, at the cost of reduced range. The Russian Iskander is a quasi-ballistic missile. The Russian Iskander-M cruises at hypersonic speed of 2,100–2,600 m/s (Mach 6–7) at a height of 50 km. The Iskander-M weighs 4,615 kg, carries a warhead of 710–800 kg, has a range of 480 km and achieves a CEP of 5–7 meters. During flight it can maneuver at different altitudes and trajectories to evade anti-ballistic missiles.


List of quasi-ballistic missiles

;: *
DF-15 The Dong-Feng 15 (a.k.a. DF-15, M-9, CSS-6) is a short-range ballistic missile developed by the People's Republic of China. The DF-15 and the newer DF-16 are thought to be the only non-nuclear missiles in use by the People's Liberation Army Rock ...
(active) *
DF-21D The Dong-Feng 21 (DF-21; NATO reporting name CSS-5 - Dong-Feng () is a two-stage, solid-fuel rocket, single-warhead medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) in the Dong Feng series developed by China Changfeng Mechanics and Electronics Technology A ...
(active) *
DF-26 __NoTOC__ The Dong Feng-26 (DF-26, ) is an intermediate-range ballistic missile deployed by the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force and produced by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). Chinese sources claim the DF-26 ...
(active) * B-611MR (active) * SY-400 (active) * XY-9 ;: *
Hadès The Hadès system was a short-range ballistic pre-strategic nuclear weapon system designed by France, as a last warning before use of strategic nuclear weapons, in the perspective of a Soviet invasion of Western Europe. It was designed from Ju ...
(retired) ;: * Prithvi-III (active) * Dhanush (active) * Prahaar (active) * Shaurya (active) * Pralay (under development) ; * Hyunmoo-1 * Hyunmoo-2A **Hyunmoo-2B **Hyunmoo-2C * Hyunmoo-4 ; * Bora (active) ; *
Fateh-110 The Fateh-110 ( fa, فاتح-۱۱۰ "conqueror"), also known as NP-110 is an Iranian solid-fueled surface-to-surface ballistic missile produced by Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization since 2002. It is single-stage, road-mobile and can c ...
(active) *
Qiam 1 The Qiam 1 ( Persian: قیام-١, "Uprising-1") is a short-range ballistic missile designed and built by Iran. It was developed from the Iranian Shahab-2, a licensed copy of the North Korean Hwasong-6, all of which are versions of the Soviet ...
(active) * Khalij Fars (active) * Kheibar Shekan (active) *
Sejjil Sejil, or Sejjil, ( fa, سجیل, a Quranic word meaning "baked clay", see Surat al-Fil) is a family of Iranian solid-fueled medium range ballistic missiles. The Sejil are replacements for the Shahab liquid-fueled ballistic missiles. Accordin ...
(active) * Shahab (active) *
Khorramshahr (missile) The Khorramshahr ( fa, خرمشهر), named after the city of Khorramshahr in Iran, is a medium-range ballistic missile that was tested by Iran in January 2017. Its range is between 1,000–2000 km with a 1,800 kg warhead and is 13 m in ...
(active) *
Emad (missile) Emad ( fa, عماد, lit=pillar) is an Iranian-designed, liquid-fuel, medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM), a derivative of Shahab-3. Description The Emad can carry a 750 kg payload at a range of 1700 km with 10 m accuracy. It use ...
(active) * Ghadr-110 (active) *
Zolfaghar (missile) The Zolfaghar ( fa, ذوالفقار) missile is an Iranian road-mobile, single-stage, solid-propelled SRBM named after Zulfiqar the sword of Ali, Ali ibn Abi Talib. It is believed to be derived from the Fateh-110 SRBM A short-range ballistic mi ...
(active) ;: *
EXTRA Extra or Xtra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper * ''Extra!'', an American me ...
(active) *
LORA Lora is a female given name and family name in the Spanish language of French origin meaning from Lorraine, a region in Northeastern France. As a given name, Lora may also be a variant of Laura or derived from an Italian hypocoristic of either E ...
(active) * Preadator Hawk (active) ;: *
KN-23 KN-23 is a designation given to a North Korean solid-fueled tactical ballistic missile. Design Initial variant The KN-23 bears an external resemblance to the Russian Iskander-M and South Korean Hyunmoo-2B SRBMs, being distinguished by its el ...
(under development) * KN-24 (under development) ;: *
CM-400 The YJ-12 () is a People's Republic of China, Chinese supersonic anti-ship missile, 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 ta ...
AKG (active) * Nasr (active) *
Shaheen-III The Shaheen-III (Urdu: ; lit. ''White Falcon-III'') is a Pakistani land-based surface-to-surface medium range ballistic missile, which was test fired for the first time by military service on 9 March 2015. Development began in secrecy in the ea ...
(active) ;\: * R-27K (cancelled) * Tochka (active) * Oka (retired) * Iskander (active) ;: * MGM-140B/E ATACMS (active)


Hypersonic ballistic missile

Many ballistic missiles reach
hypersonic speed 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 ind ...
s (i.e. Mach 5 and above) when they re-enter the atmosphere from space. However, in common military terminology, the term "hypersonic ballistic missile" is generally only given to those that can be maneuvered before hitting their target and don’t follow a simple
ballistic trajectory Projectile motion is a form of motion experienced by an object or particle (a projectile) that is projected in a gravitational field, such as from Earth's surface, and moves along a curved path under the action of gravity only. In the part ...
.


Throw-weight

Throw-weight is a measure of the effective weight of ballistic missile payloads. It is measured in kilograms or
tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000  kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...
s. Throw-weight equals the total weight of a missile's
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: * Expl ...
s, reentry vehicles, self-contained dispensing mechanisms, penetration aids, and
missile guidance Missile guidance refers to a variety of methods of guiding a missile or a guided bomb to its intended target. The missile's target accuracy is a critical factor for its effectiveness. Guidance systems improve missile accuracy by improving its P ...
systems: generally all components except for the launch
rocket booster A booster rocket (or engine) is either the first stage of a multistage launch vehicle, or else a shorter-burning rocket used in parallel with longer-burning sustainer rockets to augment the space vehicle's takeoff thrust and payload capability ...
and launch fuel. Throw-weight may refer to any type of warhead, but in normal modern usage, it refers almost exclusively to nuclear or
thermonuclear Thermonuclear fusion is the process of atomic nuclei combining or “fusing” using high temperatures to drive them close enough together for this to become possible. There are two forms of thermonuclear fusion: ''uncontrolled'', in which the re ...
payloads. It was once also a consideration in the design of naval ships and the number and size of their guns. Throw-weight was used as a criterion in classifying different types of missiles during Strategic Arms Limitation Talks between the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. The term became politically controversial during debates over the arms control accord, as critics of the treaty alleged that Soviet missiles were able to carry larger payloads and so enabled the Soviets to maintain higher throw-weight than an American force with a roughly comparable number of lower-payload missiles. The missiles with the world's heaviest payloads are the Russian SS-18 and Chinese CSS-4 and , Russia was developing a new heavy-lift, liquid-propellant ICBM called the Sarmat.


Depressed trajectory

Throw-weight is normally calculated using an optimal
ballistic trajectory Projectile motion is a form of motion experienced by an object or particle (a projectile) that is projected in a gravitational field, such as from Earth's surface, and moves along a curved path under the action of gravity only. In the part ...
from one point on the surface of the Earth to another. An optimal trajectory maximizes the total payload (throw-weight) using the available
impulse Impulse or Impulsive may refer to: Science * Impulse (physics), in mechanics, the change of momentum of an object; the integral of a force with respect to time * Impulse noise (disambiguation) * Specific impulse, the change in momentum per uni ...
of the missile. By reducing the payload weight, different trajectories can be selected, which can either increase the nominal range or decrease the total time in flight. A depressed trajectory is non-optimal, as a lower and flatter trajectory takes less time between launch and impact but has a lower throw-weight. The primary reasons to choose a depressed trajectory are to evade anti-ballistic missile systems by reducing the time available to shoot down the attacking vehicle (especially during the vulnerable burn-phase against space-based ABM systems) or a nuclear
first-strike In nuclear strategy, a first strike or preemptive strike is a preemptive surprise attack employing overwhelming force. First strike capability is a country's ability to defeat another nuclear power by destroying its arsenal to the point where t ...
scenario. An alternate, non-military purpose for a depressed trajectory is in conjunction with the
space plane A spaceplane is a vehicle that can fly and glide like an aircraft in Earth's atmosphere and maneuver like a spacecraft in outer space. To do so, spaceplanes must incorporate features of both aircraft and spacecraft. Orbital spaceplanes ten ...
concept with use of
air-breathing engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power g ...
s, which requires the ballistic missile to remain low enough inside the atmosphere for air-breathing engines to function.


Combat use

The following ballistic missiles have been used in combat: *
9K720 Iskander 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 ''Toc ...
*
Ababil-100 The Ababil-100 or al-Fat'h or al-Fatah was an Iraqi single stage solid propelled Short-range ballistic missile whose development project started around August 1991 and was tested from 2000 to 2002. It was derived from the Ababil-50 MLRS. Dev ...
*
Al-Samoud 2 Al-Samoud (الصمود, alternately ''Al-Samed'', which means steadfastness in Arabic)Miller, David: ''Conflict Iraq: Weapons and tactics of US and Iraqi Forces.'' Zenith imprint, 2003, page 22. was a liquid-propellant rocket tactical ballistic ...
*
DF-12 The ''Dongfeng'' () series, typically abbreviated as "DF missiles", are a family of short, medium, intermediate-range and intercontinental ballistic missiles operated by the Chinese People's Liberation Army Rocket Force (formerly the Second Arti ...
*
Fateh-110 The Fateh-110 ( fa, فاتح-۱۱۰ "conqueror"), also known as NP-110 is an Iranian solid-fueled surface-to-surface ballistic missile produced by Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization since 2002. It is single-stage, road-mobile and can c ...
*
LORA Lora is a female given name and family name in the Spanish language of French origin meaning from Lorraine, a region in Northeastern France. As a given name, Lora may also be a variant of Laura or derived from an Italian hypocoristic of either E ...
* MGM-140 ATACMS *
OTR-21 Tochka OTR-21 ''Tochka'' (russian: оперативно-тактический ракетный комплекс (ОТР) «Точка» (" point"); en, Tactical Operational Missile Complex "Tochka") is a Soviet tactical ballistic missile. Its GRAU des ...
* Qaher-1/2M * Scud types * V-2 *
Zolfaghar Zulfiqar ( ar, ذُو ٱلْفَقَار, Ḏū-l-Faqār, ), also spelled ''Zu al-Faqar'', ''Zulfikar'', ''Dhu al-Faqar'', ''Dhulfaqar'' or ''Dhulfiqar'', is the sword of Ali ibn Abi Talib. Middle Eastern weapons are commonly inscribed wi ...


See also

* Ballistic missile flight phases *
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 rocke ...
(guided) *
MIRV A multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) is an exoatmospheric ballistic missile payload containing several warheads, each capable of being aimed to hit a different target. The concept is almost invariably associated with i ...
* NATO reporting name (has lists of various Soviet missiles) *
Surface-to-surface missile A surface-to-surface missile (SSM) or ground-to-ground missile (GGM) is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea and strike targets on land or at sea. They may be fired from hand-held or vehicle mounted devices, from fixed ins ...
*
Weapons of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natu ...
*
List of currently active missiles of the United States military The following is a list of active missiles of the United States military. Air-to-air missiles Air-to-surface missiles Surface-to-air Surface-to-surface missiles Antisubmarine warfare ICBM Submarine-launched See also *Lists of weap ...
*
List of ICBMs This is a list of intercontinental ballistic missiles developed by various countries. Russia Specific types of Russian ICBMs include: Active * R-36M2 Voevoda / SS-18 Satan *UR-100N 15A30 / SS-19 Stiletto *RT-2PM Topol / 15Zh58 / SS-25 Sickle *R ...
*
List of missiles Below is a list of missiles, sorted alphabetically into large categories and subcategories by name and purpose. Other missile lists Types of missiles: * Conventional guided missiles ** Air-to-air missile ** Air-to-surface missile ** Anti-rad ...
*
List of missiles by nation This list of missiles by country displays the names of missiles in order of the country where they originate (were developed), with the countries listed alphabetically and annotated with their continent (and defence alliance, if applicable). In cas ...
*
List of NATO reporting names for ballistic missile submarines NATO has a system of reporting names for non-Western submarines. During the Cold War, NATO introduced a system of internal code names for classes of Soviet Navy, Soviet and Chinese Navy, Chinese submarines. This served to provide standard names wh ...


Notes


References

*Needham, Joseph (1986). ''Science and Civilization in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 7, Military Technology; the Gunpowder Epic''. Taipei: Caves Books.


Further reading

* * *


External links


Missile Threat
A Project of the
Center for Strategic and International Studies The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. CSIS was founded as the Center for Strategic and International Studies of Georgetown University in 1962. The center conducts polic ...
{{Authority control Chinese inventions German inventions of the Nazi period Wernher von Braun