>Quercus solaris: Wikilinks that should be in this lede—rocket; also, turbine jet not called rocket except when lumped under label of rocket artillery as umbrella term

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Wikilinks that should be in this lede—rocket; also, turbine jet not called rocket except when lumped under label of rocket artillery as umbrella term

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{{Short description|Self-propelled guided weapon system}}
{{About|guided missiles|unguided missiles|Rocket (weapon)|ancient missiles|Projectile|other uses}}
{{more citations needed|date=October 2010}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 141-1880, Peenemünde, Start einer V2.jpg|thumb|upright|A [[V2-rocket|V2]] launched from [[Test Stand VII]] in the summer of 1943]]
[[File:HNLMS De Zeven Provincien fires Harpoon missile.jpg|thumb|[[HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën (F802)|HNLMS ''De Zeven Provinciën'' (F802)]] firing a [[Harpoon (missile)|Harpoon]] ]]

In military terminology,<ref name="OED missile">{{cite book |title=OED Online |date=2021 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |url=https://www.oed.com |access-date=17 March 2021 |chapter=missile, n. and adj.|quote= '''2.a.''' An object propelled (either by hand or mechanically) as a weapon at a target. [Usage citation: Maurice Leitch (1981). ''Silver's city.'' London: Secker & Warburg. ISBN 0436244136 - 'Then something struck him, a stone; it fell at his feet, and in a moment, the air was filled with missiles, curving high to land about him on the roadway.'].<br>'''b.''' Military. A long-distance weapon that is self-propelled, and directed either by remote control or automatically, during part or all of its course. (Originally always with modifying word).}}</ref> a '''missile''' is a [[missile guidance|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 in [[rocket]] form). Missiles have five system components: [[targeting (warfare)|targeting]], [[guidance system]], flight system, engine and [[warhead]]. Missiles come in types adapted for different purposes: [[surface-to-surface missile|surface-to-surface]] and [[air-to-surface missile]]s ([[ballistic missile|ballistic]], [[cruise missile|cruise]], [[anti-ship missile|anti-ship]], [[anti-tank missile|anti-tank]], etc.), [[surface-to-air missile]]s (and [[anti-ballistic missile|anti-ballistic]]), [[air-to-air missile]]s, and [[anti-satellite weapon]]s.

Airborne [[explosive device]]s without propulsion are referred to as [[shell (projectile)|shells]] if fired by an [[artillery piece]] and [[bomb]]s if dropped by an aircraft. Unguided jet- or rocket-propelled missiles are usually described as [[rocket artillery]].

Historically, the word ''missile'' referred to any [[projectile]] that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this usage is still recognized today.<ref name="OED missile" />

==Early development==
{{See also|History of rockets and missiles}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1975-117-26, Marschflugkörper V1 vor Start.jpg|thumb|V-1 missile]]

The first missiles to be used operationally were a series of [[List of World War II guided missiles of Germany|missiles]] developed by [[Nazi Germany]] in [[World War II]]. Most famous of these are the [[V-1 flying bomb]] and [[V-2 rocket]], both of which used a mechanical [[autopilot]] to keep the missile flying along a pre-chosen route.<ref>https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/world-war-two/world-war-two-in-western-europe/the-v-revenge-weapons/the-v-weapons/ History Learning Official Site V1 and V2 Weapons</ref> Less well known were a series of [[Anti-ship missile|Anti-Ship]] and [[Surface-to-air missile|Anti-aircraft]] missiles, typically based on a simple [[radio control]] ([[command guidance]]) system directed by the operator. However, these early systems in World War II were only built in small numbers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/world-war-two/world-war-two-in-western-europe/the-v-revenge-weapons/the-v-weapons/|title=The V Weapons|website=History Learning Site}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/british-response-v1-and-v2/|title=The National Archives - Homepage|first=The National|last=Archives}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/missile-surface-surface-v-2-4|title=Missile, Surface-to-Surface, V-2 (A-4)|date=April 1, 2016|website=National Air and Space Museum}}</ref>

==Technology==
{{unreferenced section|date=June 2013}}
Guided missiles have a number of different system components:
* Guidance system
* Targeting system
* Flight system
* Engine
* Warhead

===Guidance systems===
[[File:Missile Maintainer inspects missile guidance system of the LGM-30G Minuteman ICBM.jpg|thumb|Missile Maintainer inspects missile guidance system of the [[LGM-30G Minuteman]] ICBM]]
The most common method of guidance is to use some form of [[radiation]], such as [[infrared homing|infrared]], [[laser guidance|laser]]s or [[radar guidance|radio wave]]s, to guide the missile onto its target. This radiation may emanate from the target (such as the heat of an engine or the radio waves from an enemy radar), it may be provided by the missile itself (such as a radar), or it may be provided by a friendly third party (such as the radar of the launch vehicle/platform, or a laser designator operated by friendly [[infantry]]). The first two are often known as [[fire-and-forget]] as they need no further support or control from the launch vehicle/platform in order to function. Another method is to use a [[TV guidance]], with a [[visible light]] or infrared picture produced in order to see the target. The picture may be used either by a human operator who steering the missile onto its target or by a computer doing much the same job. One of the more bizarre guidance methods instead used a [[Project Pigeon|pigeon to steer a missile]] to its target. Some missiles also have a home-on-jam capability to guide itself to a radar-emitting source. Many missiles use a combination of two or more of the methods to improve accuracy and the chances of a successful engagement.

===Targeting systems===
Another method is to target the missile by knowing the location of the target and using a guidance system such as [[Inertial navigation system|INS]], [[TERCOM]] or [[satellite guidance]]. This guidance system guides the missile by knowing the missile's current position and the position of the target, and then calculating a course between them. This job can also be performed somewhat crudely by a human operator who can see the target and the missile and guide it using either cable- or [[radio-control|radio]]-based remote control, or by an [[ACLOS|automatic system]] that can simultaneously track the target and the missile.
Furthermore, some missiles use initial targeting, sending them to a target area, where they will switch to primary targeting, using either radar or IR targeting to acquire the target.

===Flight system===
Whether a guided missile uses a targeting system, a guidance system or both, it needs a flight system. The flight system uses the data from the targeting or guidance system to maneuver the missile in flight, allowing it to counter inaccuracies in the missile or to follow a moving target. There are two main systems: vectored thrust (for missiles that are powered throughout the guidance phase of their flight) and aerodynamic maneuvering (wings, fins, [[canard (aeronautics)]], etc.).

===Engine===
[[File:Solid-Fuel Rocket Diagram.svg|thumb|A simplified diagram of a solid-fuel rocket. {{olist
|A solid [[Rocket propellant#Solid propellants|fuel-oxidizer mixture]] (propellant) is packed into the rocket, with a cylindrical hole in the middle.
|An [[Pyrotechnic initiator|igniter]] combusts the surface of the propellant.
|The cylindrical hole in the propellant acts as a [[combustion chamber]].
|The hot exhaust is choked at the throat, which, among other things, dictates the amount of thrust produced.
|Exhaust exits the rocket.
}}]]
Missiles are powered by an engine, generally either a type of [[rocket engine]] or [[jet engine]]. Rockets are generally of the [[solid-propellant rocket|solid-propellant]] type for ease of maintenance and fast deployment, although some larger ballistic missiles use [[liquid-propellant rocket]]s. Jet engines are generally used in [[cruise missile]]s, most commonly of the [[turbojet]] type, due to its relative simplicity and low frontal area. [[Turbofan]]s and [[ramjet]]s are the only other common forms of jet engine propulsion, although any type of engine could theoretically be used. Long-range missiles may have multiple engine stages, particularly in those launched from the surface. These stages may all be of similar types or may include a mix of engine types − for example, surface-launched cruise missiles often have a rocket booster for launching and a jet engine for sustained flight.

Some missiles may have additional propulsion from another source at launch; for example, the [[V1 flying bomb|V1]] was launched by a catapult, and the [[MGM-51 Shillelagh]] was fired out of a tank gun (using a smaller charge than would be used for a shell).

===Warhead===
Missiles generally have one or more [[explosive]] [[warhead]]s, although other weapon types may also be used. The warheads of a missile provide its primary destructive power (many missiles have extensive secondary destructive power due to the high kinetic energy of the weapon and unburnt fuel that may be on board). Warheads are most commonly of the [[high explosive]] type, often employing [[shaped charge]]s to exploit the accuracy of a guided weapon to destroy hardened targets. Other warhead types include [[submunition]]s, [[incendiary device|incendiaries]], [[nuclear weapon]]s, [[chemical weapon|chemical]], [[biological weapon|biological]] or [[radiological weapon]]s or [[kinetic energy penetrator]]s. Warheadless missiles are often used for testing and training purposes.

==Basic roles==
{{See also|List of missiles}}
Missiles are generally categorized by their launch platform and intended target. In broadest terms, these will either be surface (ground or water) or air, and then sub-categorized by range and the exact target type (such as anti-tank or anti-ship). Many weapons are designed to be launched from both surface or the air, and a few are designed to attack either surface or air targets (such as the [[Air Defense Anti-Tank System|ADATS]] missile). Most weapons require some modification in order to be launched from the air or surface, such as adding [[Booster (rocketry)|boosters]] to the surface-launched version.

===Ballistic===
[[File:Dnepr rocket lift-off 1.jpg|thumb|upright|An [[R-36 (missile)|R-36]] ballistic missile launch at a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] silo]]After the boost stage, ballistic missiles follow a [[trajectory]] mainly determined by [[ballistics]]. The guidance is for relatively small deviations from that.

Ballistic missiles are largely used for land attack missions. Although normally associated with nuclear weapons, some conventionally armed ballistic missiles are in service, such as [[MGM-140 ATACMS]]. The V2 had demonstrated that a ballistic missile could deliver a warhead to a target city with no possibility of interception, and the introduction of [[nuclear weapon]]s meant it could efficiently do damage when it arrived. The accuracy of these systems was fairly poor, but post-war development by most military forces improved the basic [[Inertial navigation system]] concept to the point where it could be used as the guidance system on [[Intercontinental ballistic missile]]s flying thousands of kilometers. Today, the ballistic missile represents the only [[Deterrence theory|strategic deterrent]] in most military forces; however, some ballistic missiles are being adapted for conventional roles, such as the Russian [[9K720 Iskander|Iskander]] or the Chinese [[DF-21#DF-21D|DF-21D]] [[anti-ship ballistic missile]]. Ballistic missiles are primarily surface-launched from [[transporter erector launcher|mobile launchers]], [[missile silo|silos]], [[warship|ships]] or [[ballistic missile submarine|submarines]], with [[ALBM|air launch]] being theoretically possible with a weapon such as the cancelled [[GAM-87 Skybolt|Skybolt]] missile.

The [[Russia]]n [[RT-2PM2 Topol-M|Topol M (SS-27 Sickle B)]] is the fastest (7,320 m/s) missile currently in service.<ref>{{cite news | title = World's military powers | newspaper = The Independent | url = http://www.independent.co.ug/index.php/reports/world-report/74-world-report-/172-worlds-military-powers | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100530062700/http://www.independent.co.ug/index.php/reports/world-report/74-world-report-/172-worlds-military-powers | archive-date = 2010-05-30 }}</ref>

====Cruise====
[[File:Tomahawk Block IV cruise missile.jpg|thumb|American [[Tomahawk cruise missile]] ]]
[[File:BrahMos.jpg|thumb|Russian-Indian Supersonic cruise missile [[BrahMos]] ]]
The [[V-1 flying bomb|V1]] had been successfully intercepted during [[World War II]], but this did not make the [[cruise missile]] concept entirely useless. After the war, the US deployed a small number of nuclear-armed cruise missiles in Germany, but these were considered to be of limited usefulness. Continued research into much longer-ranged and faster versions led to the US's [[SM-64 Navaho]] and its [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] counterparts, the [[Burya]] and [[Buran cruise missile]]. However, these were rendered largely obsolete by the [[ICBM]], and none were used operationally. Shorter-range developments have become widely used as highly accurate attack systems, such as the US [[Tomahawk missile]] and Russian [[Kh-55]] . Cruise missiles are generally further divided into subsonic or supersonic weapons - supersonic weapons such as [[BrahMos]] (India, Russia) are difficult to shoot down, whereas subsonic weapons tend to be much lighter and cheaper allowing more to be fired.

Cruise missiles are generally associated with [[land-attack missile|land-attack operations]], but also have an important role as anti-shipping weapons. They are primarily launched from air, sea or submarine platforms in both roles, although land-based launchers also exist.

====Anti-ship and Anti-submarine====
{{Main|Anti-ship missile|anti-submarine missile}}
[[File:Exocet-mil.jpg|thumb|The [[France|French]] [[Exocet]] missile in flight]]Another major German missile development project was the anti-shipping class (such as the [[Fritz X]] and [[Henschel Hs 293]]), intended to stop any attempt at a cross-channel invasion. However, the British were able to render their systems useless by jamming their radios, and missiles with [[Wire-guided missile|wire guidance]] were not ready by [[D-Day]]. After the war, the anti-shipping class slowly developed and became a major class in the 1960s with the introduction of the low-flying jet- or rocket-powered cruise missiles known as "sea-skimmers". These became famous during the [[Falklands War]], when an Argentine [[Exocet|Exocet missile]] disabled a [[Royal Navy]] destroyer.

A number of [[anti-submarine missile]]s also exist; these generally use the missile in order to deliver another weapon system such as a [[torpedo]] or [[depth charge]] to the location of the submarine, at which point the other weapon will conduct the underwater phase of the mission.

====Anti-tank====
{{Main|Anti-tank guided missile|Surface-to-surface missile|Air-to-surface missile}}
[[File:Army-fgm148.jpg|thumb|[[U.S. Army]] soldiers firing an [[FGM-148 Javelin]] ]]
By the end of WWII, all forces had widely introduced unguided rockets using [[High-explosive anti-tank warhead]]s as their major anti-tank weapon (see [[Panzerfaust]], [[Bazooka]]). However, these had a limited useful range of 100 m or so, and the Germans were looking to extend this with the use of a missile using [[wire-guided missile|wire guidance]], the X-7. After the war, this became a major design class in the later 1950s and, by the 1960s, had developed into practically the only non-tank anti-tank system in general use. During the 1973 [[Yom Kippur War]] between Israel and Egypt, the [[9M14 Malyutka]] (aka "Sagger") man-portable anti-tank missile proved potent against Israeli tanks. While other guidance systems have been tried, the basic reliability of wire guidance means this will remain the primary means of controlling anti-tank missiles in the near future. Anti-tank missiles may be launched from aircraft, vehicles or by ground troops in the case of smaller weapons.

===Surface-to-air and subsurface-to-air===

====Anti-aircraft====
{{Main|Surface-to-air missile|air-to-air missile|man-portable air-defense system}}
[[File:Patriot missile launch b.jpg|thumb|upright|[[MIM-104 Patriot]] missile being launched]]By 1944, US and British air forces were sending huge air fleets over occupied Europe, increasing the pressure on the [[Luftwaffe]] day and night fighter forces. The Germans were keen to get some sort of useful ground-based anti-aircraft system into operation. Several systems were under development, but none had reached operational status before the war's end. The [[United States Navy|US Navy]] also started missile research to deal with the [[Kamikaze]] threat. By 1950, systems based on this early research started to reach operational service, including the [[United States Army|US Army]]'s [[MIM-3 Nike Ajax]] and the Navy's "3T's" (Talos, Terrier, Tartar), soon followed by the Soviet [[S-25 Berkut]] and [[S-75 Dvina]] and French and British systems. Anti-aircraft weapons exist for virtually every possible launch platform, with surface-launched systems ranging from huge, self-propelled or ship-mounted launchers to man-portable systems. '''Subsurface-to-air missiles''' are usually launched from below water (usually from [[submarine]]s).

====Anti-ballistic====
{{Main|Anti-ballistic missile}}
[[File:Arrow anti-ballistic missile launch.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Arrow (Israeli missile)|Arrow missile]] ]]
Like most missiles, the [[S-300 missile system|S-300]], [[S-400 missile system|S-400]], [[Advanced Air Defence]] and [[MIM-104 Patriot]] are for defense against short-range missiles and carry explosive warheads.

In the case of a large closing speed, [[Projectile#Explosive charge or kinetic|a projectile without explosives]] is used; just a [[collision]] is sufficient to destroy the target. See [[Missile Defense Agency]] for the following systems being developed:

* [[Arrow 3]]
* [[Kinetic Energy Interceptor]] (KEI)
* [[Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System]] (Aegis BMD) - an [[RIM-161 Standard missile 3|SM-3]] missile with a Lightweight Exo-Atmospheric Projectile (LEAP) Kinetic Warhead (KW)

===Air-to-air===
[[File:Aircraft Combat Archer (2565196807).jpg|thumb|A [[Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor|F-22 Raptor]] fires an [[AIM-120 AMRAAM]] ]]

For the first time used by Soviet pilots in the summer of 1939 during the [[Battle of Khalkhin Gol]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YwquDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT448 |title=Soviet Bombers of the Second World War|last=Moore|first=Jason Nicholas|date=2019-09-08|publisher=Fonthill Media|language=en}}</ref> On August 20, 1939, the Japanese [[Nakajima Ki-27]] fighter was attacked by the Soviet [[Polikarpov I-16]] fighter of the Captain N. Zvonarev, he fired a rocket salvo, from a distance of about a kilometer, after which the Ki-27 crashed to the ground.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zVEjAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA30 |title=NASA Technical Translation|date=1959|publisher=National Aeronautics and Space Administration|language=en}}</ref> A group of [[Polikarpov I-16]] fighters under command of Captain N. Zvonarev were using [[RS-82 (rocket family)|RS-82]] rockets against Japanese aircraft, shooting down 16 fighters and 3 bombers in total.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SHiHCwAAQBAJ|title=Polikarpov I-15, I-16 and I-153 Aces|last=Maslov|first=Mikhail|date=2013-02-20|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-4728-0161-6|language=en}}</ref>

German experience in World War II demonstrated that destroying a large aircraft was quite difficult, and they had invested considerable effort into [[air-to-air missile]] systems to do this. Their [[Messerschmitt Me 262]]'s jets often carried R4M rockets, and other types of "bomber destroyer" aircraft had unguided rockets as well. In the post-war period, the R4M served as the pattern for a number of similar systems, used by almost all interceptor aircraft during the 1940s and 1950s. Most rockets (except for the [[AIR-2 Genie]], due to its nuclear warhead with a large blast radius) had to be carefully aimed at relatively close range to hit the target successfully. The [[United States Navy]] and [[U.S. Air Force]] began deploying guided missiles in the early 1950s, most famous being the US Navy's [[AIM-9 Sidewinder]] and the USAF's [[AIM-4 Falcon]]. These systems have continued to advance, and modern air warfare consists almost entirely of missile firing. In the [[Falklands War]], less powerful British [[Harrier Jump Jet|Harriers]] were able to defeat faster Argentinian opponents using American AIM-9L missiles. The latest heat-seeking designs can lock onto a target from various angles, not just from behind, where the heat signature from the engines is strongest. Other types rely on radar guidance (either on board or "painted" by the launching aircraft). Air-to-air missiles also have a wide range of sizes, ranging from helicopter-launched self-defense weapons with a range of a few kilometers, to long-range weapons designed for interceptor aircraft such as the [[R-37 (missile)]].

===Anti-satellite===
{{Main|Anti-satellite weapon}}
[[File:ASAT missile launch.jpg|thumb|upright|[[ASM-135 ASAT]] missile launch in 1985]]In the 1950s and 1960s, Soviet designers started work on an anti-satellite weapon as part of the [[Istrebitel Sputnikov]] program ("istrebitel sputnikov" literally means "destroyer of satellites"). After a lengthy development process of roughly twenty years, it was finally decided that the testing of these weapons be canceled. This was when the United States started testing their own systems. The [[Strategic Defense Initiative|Brilliant Pebbles]] defense system proposed during the 1980s would have used kinetic energy collisions without explosives. Anti-satellite weapons may be launched either by an aircraft or a surface platform, depending on the design. To date, only a few known tests have occurred. As of 2019, only 4 countries - United States, India, Russia and China have operational anti-satellite weapons.

==See also==
* [[Anti-aircraft warfare]]
* [[Anti-ballistic missile defense countermeasures]]
* [[Loitering munition]]
* [[Aeroprediction]]
* [[Center of pressure (fluid mechanics)|Center of pressure]]
* [[Command missile]]
* [[Guided missile destroyer]]
* [[List of ships sunk by missiles]]
* [[Missile approach warning system]]
* [[Missile boat]]
* [[Missile defense]]
* [[Missile defense systems by country]]
* [[Missile designation]]
* [[Missile gap]]
* [[Missile guidance]]
* [[Missile launch control center]]
* [[Rocket launcher|Missile launchers]]
* [[Tracking ship|Missile range instrumentation ship]]
* [[Missile tank]]
* [[Missile Technology Control Regime]]
* [[Missile turret]]
* [[Missile vehicle]]
* [[NATO missile defence system]]
* [[Proportional navigation]]
* [[Rocket garden]]
* [[Scramjet]]
* [[Skid-to-turn]]
* [[Soft launch (missile)|Soft launching]]
* [[Timeline of rocket and missile technology]]
* [[Transporter erector launcher]]
* [[Trajectory optimization]]
* [[Twilight phenomena]]
* [[Vertical launching system|Vertical launcher]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{wiktionary|missile}}

*{{Commons-inline|Missile}}
*{{Commons category-inline|Missiles}}
*[https://missilethreat.csis.org/ Missile Threat: A Project of the [[Center for Strategic and International Studies]] ]

{{Missile types}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Missiles| ]]
[[Category:Missile types| ]]
[[Category:Rockets and missiles| ]]
[[Category:Ammunition]]
[[Category:Explosive weapons]]

Missile - Revision history

>Quercus solaris: Wikilinks that should be in this lede—rocket; also, turbine jet not called rocket except when lumped under label of rocket artillery as umbrella term