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
Cruise missile is effectively an unmanned jet plane. It has wings and jet engine which let it fly by preprogrammed route. It usually tries to fly as low as possible, below the radars can detect it.
Ballistic missile follows ballistic trajectory. Rocket engine accelerates it after the launch and then it just flies in a kind of ‘free fall’.
It’s easier for ballistic missile to reach higher speed and since it reaches higher altituted, air defence can intercept it only on the final part of their trajectory.
(the next part is based on practical experience learned in Kyiv, Ukraine):
when I hear Russians launched cruise missiles, I know I have at least half an hour to go to a bomb shelter. An when it’s a ballistic missile launch, I don’t even try to go to shelter as I have less then five minutes before they reach my city. Russians tried to make hypersonic cruise missile, but it didn’t work well.
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