I see in the news that Iran fired “ballistic” missles. How are these different than cruise missles and what is used when?
Thank you all in advance.
In: Engineering
You’re standing in a field with a target and you have a ball in your hand. You throw it and try to hit the target. That is a ballistic missile. The rockets are aimed at their starting point, and the rocket engine only fires to push the rocket up in the air at the angle and direction that is is already aimed.
You’re standing in a field with a target and you have a radio controlled plane. You start the plane and use controls to fly it to the target. That is a cruise missile. The cruise missile can be pointed any direction when it starts out, because it has an engine that runs for most of its flight, as well as wings and control surfaces that allow it to change direction.
Latest Answers