Missiles

Weapons that are thrown or propelled at a target. Technically, anything from a rock hurled by a slingshot, to an arrow shot from a bow, to a bullet fired from a gun is classified as a missile. Today, however, the term missile commonly refers to a guided rocket—or a jet-propelled device that carries an explosive warhead.

Development of Modern Missiles

Missile weapons are as ancient as warfare itself, but until the development of gunpowder, all missile weapons were powered and guided by humans. The British pioneered the wartime use of small exploding rockets during the 18th century, but early rockets were unguided, unreliable, and inaccurate. Modern missiles had to await the development of more powerful propellant fuels and more advanced guidance devices in the mid-1900s.

The first recognizably modern missiles were probably the German V-1 and V-2 rockets of World War II. The V-1 rocket was a jet-powered tube about 25 feet long and loaded with some 1,800 pounds of explosives that had a top speed of about 400 mph (670 km per hour). The guidance system, although crudely made, was based on a sophisticated concept. An autopilot on the V-1 controlled its height and speed—based on feedback from a series of pendulums mounted in the fuselage; a gyromagnetic compass controlled the rudder. The missile was set to dive after traveling a certain distance and then explode on contact with the ground. In concept, the V-1 was the direct forerunner of today's cruise missile.

By contrast, the V-2 rocket was the early prototype of today's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Although much larger than the V-1, the V-2 carried only a slightly larger warhead (about 2,000 pounds) and had roughly the same range. The main difference, however, was that the V-2 was designed to enter space and reenter the atmosphere before striking its target, so there would be no way to intercept it. The V-2 had a simple onboard computer to control its flight path and distance. It was also much more accurate than the V-1, although far less so than modern missiles.

The development of more sophisticated electronics following World War II made modern missiles possible. Increasing miniaturization and the invention of remote guidance and tracking systems spurred rapid advances in missile technology. During the 1950s, heat-seeking and radar-guided missiles began to replace machine guns and cannons as the main armament on combat aircraft. The first guided nuclear-armed ICBMs were developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s. By the 1960s, the United States had also introduced the first submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM): the Polaris. Cruise missile technology also advanced significantly during the 1960s.

Current missile technology represents refinements of the systems pioneered during the 1950s and 1960s. Since the 1960s, ICBMs have become larger, as well as much more accurate and destructive. Antiair missiles have also become more accurate and have shrunk to the size where they can be fired by a single person. Cruise missiles now contain sophisticated computers that use satellite maps to guide the weapon hundreds of miles to its target while hugging the ground to avoid detection by radar. These refinements have changed the nature of warfare, making it more focused, more destructive, and more remote.

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