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Ballistic Missiles. A ballistic
missile is a rocket capable of guiding and propelling itself in a direction
and to a velocity that, when the rocket engine shuts down, it will follow a
flight pattern to a desired target. Ballistic missiles burn most of their propellant
(fuel) in the initial portion of their flight, called the boost phase. Most
fly fast enough to hit targets hundreds or thousands of miles away in a few
minutes. Once launched, they are fairly easy to detect with radar or other sensors,
but extremely difficult (some would argue practically impossible) to intercept.
This is particularly true for missiles with longer range, such as
intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
Approximately, 32
countries possess ballistic missiles. Nations that have WMD usually seek to buy or develop ballistic missiles to
deliver such weapons to enemy targets; the eight countries with nuclear
weapons (the United States,
United Kingdom,
Russia,
China,
France,
India,
Pakistan, and
Israel) all have operational ballistic missiles. Only these eight
countries, Iran, and
North Korea have produced or tested missiles with ranges
over 1,000 kilometers. These countries want such missiles because, at least
to date, they could be certain of penetrating enemy defenses. For this reason,
slowing the spread of ballistic missiles and developing defenses against them
have become important elements of efforts to prevent the use of WMD.
Cruise Missiles. Technically, a cruise
missile is an unmanned, self-propelled guided vehicle that sustains flight
through aerodynamic lift (like an airplane) for most of its flight path. Like a
ballistic missile, its primary mission is to place ordnance or a special payload
on a target. One important difference between ballistic missiles and
cruise missiles is that cruise missiles remain in the atmosphere for the entire
duration of flight. Also, since cruise missiles rely on the thrust of
their engines and aerodynamic lift, similar to an airplane, they may be
controlled or even redirected during flight. Ballistic missiles, on the
other hand, follow a path that is determined almost entirely during their
initial boost phase and cannot be redirected during flight. Many cruise
missiles are capable of flying close to the ground and using other means to
avoid detection by radar.
There are two main varieties of cruise missiles. The first are
sea-launched cruise missiles (SLCMs), which are launched from submarines or
surface ships. The second are air-launched cruise missiles (ALCMs), which are
launched from aircraft, such as heavy bombers.
Most cruise missiles carry conventional warheads.
In August 2005, the United States tested a long-range cruise missile with a
boosted penetrator warhead that can be used against hard and deeply buried
targets. The United States, Russia, and China, however, deploy cruise missiles
with nuclear warheads as well.
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Further Reading:
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CRS, Andrew Feickert,
"Cruise Missile Proliferation" |
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Arms Control Association,
Ballistic Missile Proliferation |
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Carnegie Endowment,
Carnegie
Non-Proliferation Project's World Missile Chart |
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CNS, Mountbatten Centre,
International Perspectives on Missile Proliferation and Defenses |
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CIA Dir. George Tenet,
"Worldwide
Threat 2004: National Security" |
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Arms Control Today, Aaron Karp,
"Going
Ballistic? Reversing Missile Proliferation" |
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Robert D. Walpole,
"The
Iranian Ballistic Missile and WMD Threat to the United States..." |
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CNS,
Missile
Proliferation and Defences: Problems and Prospects |
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CRS, Andrew Feickert,
"Missile Survey: Ballistic and Cruise Missiles of Foreign Countries" |
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