An intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) is a

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 t ...

with a range of 3,000–5,500 km (1,864–3,418 miles), between a

medium-range ballistic missile A medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) is a type of ballistic missile with medium range, this last classification depending on the standards of certain organizations. Within the U.S. Department of Defense, a medium-range missile is defined b ...

(MRBM) and an

intercontinental ballistic missile 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 weapo ...

(ICBM). Classifying ballistic missiles by range is done mostly for convenience; in principle there is very little difference between a low-performance ICBM and a high-performance IRBM, because decreasing payload mass can increase range over ICBM threshold. The range definition used here is used within the U.S. Missile Defense Agency. Some other sources include an additional category, the long-range ballistic missile (LRBM), to describe missiles with a range between IRBMs and true ICBMs. The more modern term theatre ballistic missile encompasses MRBMs and SRBMs, including any ballistic missile with a range under . The progenitor for the IRBM was the

A4b The Aggregat series (German for "Aggregate") was a set of ballistic missile designs developed in 1933–1945 by a research program of Nazi Germany's Armed Forces ( Wehrmacht). Its greatest success was the A4, more commonly known as the V-2. ...

winged rocket, based on the V-2 (officially called A4) rocket used 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 ...

at the end of

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

History

The progenitor for the IRBM was the A4b rocket winged for increased range and based on the famous

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 ...

(Vergeltung, or "Reprisal", officially called A4) rocket designed by Wernher von Braun; the V-2 was widely used by

at the end of World War II to bomb English and Belgian cities. The A4b was the prototype for the upper stage of the A9/A10 rocket. The goal of the program was to build a missile capable of bombarding New York when launched in France or Spain (see Amerika Bomber). A4b rockets were tested a few times in December 1944 and January and February 1945. All of these rockets used liquid propellant. The A4b used an

inertial guidance 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 ...

, while the A9 would have been controlled by a pilot. They started from a non-mobile launch pad. Following World War II von Braun and other lead

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

scientists were secretly transferred to the United States to work directly for the U.S. Army through

Operation Paperclip Operation Paperclip was a secret United States intelligence program in which more than 1,600 German scientists, engineers, and technicians were taken from the former Nazi Germany to the U.S. for government employment after the end of World War ...

developing the V-2 into the weapon for the United States. IRBMs are currently operated by the People's Republic of China, India, Israel, and North Korea. The United States, USSR, Pakistan, United Kingdom, and France were former operators.

Nomenclature

There is no clearly agreed-upon distinction between an intermediate-range and a medium range ( MRBM) missile, and the categories overlap. Different sources will classify missiles in different ways. They are both distinct from ICBMs in that they have a range that is less than intercontinental, and hence must be based relatively close to the target. An IRBM, in general, is intended as a strategic weapon, while a MRBM, in general, is intended as a theatre ballistic missile.

Specific IRBMs

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile *Intermediate-range Missile types Wernher von Braun

History

Nomenclature

Specific IRBMs

See also

References