guidedmissile

A guided missile is a self-propelled munition that uses onboard guidance to steer toward a designated target. Unlike unguided munitions, guided missiles adjust their flight path during flight to improve accuracy. They vary in range from tens of kilometers to thousands, and in speed from subsonic to hypersonic, carrying conventional, penetrator, or nuclear warheads.

Guidance systems may be autonomous, using onboard sensors and navigation aids such as inertial measurement units and satellite data, or semi-autonomous and remote, using external cues like radio command links, semi-active radar homing, or active seekers in radar, infrared, or electro-optical bands. Some missiles use terminal guidance only, while others rely on midcourse updates via data links. Modern missiles commonly fuse multiple methods to improve reliability and resistance to countermeasures.

Propulsion is typically a rocket or a jet engine, with air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles often using solid-propellant rockets, while cruise missiles employ turbofan or turbojet engines for sustained flight. Air-launched, ground-launched, and ship-launched configurations are common. Warheads range from conventional high-explosive to penetrating or submunitions, and some systems are capable of delivering nuclear payloads.

Missile types cover air-to-air, air-to-ground or surface-to-surface, anti-tank guided missiles, anti-ship missiles, and surface-to-air missiles. Notable examples include the AIM-120 AMRAAM, AIM-9 Sidewinder, Tomahawk cruise missile, AGM-114 Hellfire, Harpoon anti-ship missile, and the Patriot surface-to-air system.

Development began with early guided weapons in World War II, notably the V-1 flying bomb, followed by advances in guidance, navigation, and propulsion during the Cold War. Today, guided missiles are produced by many nations and serve in air, land, and sea defense and offense.