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A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead over long distances with high precision. Modern cruise missiles are capable of travelling at high subsonic, supersonic, or hypersonic speeds, are self-navigating, and are able to fly on a non- ballistic, extremely low-altitude trajectory.


History

The idea of an "aerial torpedo" was shown in the British 1909 film ''
The Airship Destroyer ''The Airship Destroyer'' (originally titled Der Luftkrieg Der Zukunft, also titled "The Aerial Torpedo", "The Battle of the Clouds" and "The Battle in the Clouds" ) is a 1909 British silent science fiction film directed by Walter R. Booth. Pl ...
'' in which flying torpedoes controlled wirelessly are used to bring down airships bombing
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. In 1916, the
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
aviator Lawrence Sperry built and patented an "aerial torpedo", the Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane, a small biplane carrying a TNT charge, a Sperry autopilot and a barometric altitude control. Inspired by the experiments, the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...
developed a similar flying bomb called the Kettering Bug. Germany had also flown trials with remote-controlled aerial gliders ''(Torpedogleiter)'' built by Siemens-Schuckert beginning in 1916. In the Interwar Period, Britain's Royal Aircraft Establishment developed the Larynx (Long Range Gun with Lynx Engine), which underwent a few flight tests in the 1920s. In the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, Sergei Korolev headed the GIRD-06 cruise missile project from 1932 to 1939, which used a rocket-powered boost- glide bomb design. The 06/III (RP-216) and 06/IV (RP-212) contained
gyroscopic A gyroscope (from Ancient Greek γῦρος ''gŷros'', "round" and σκοπέω ''skopéō'', "to look") is a device used for measuring or maintaining orientation and angular velocity. It is a spinning wheel or disc in which the axis of rot ...
guidance systems. The vehicle was designed to boost to 28 km altitude and glide a distance of 280 km, but test flights in 1934 and 1936 only reached an altitude of 500 meters. In 1944, during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Germany deployed the first operational cruise missiles. The V-1, often called a
flying bomb A flying bomb is a manned or unmanned aerial vehicle or aircraft carrying a large explosive warhead, a precursor to contemporary cruise missiles. In contrast to a bomber aircraft, which is intended to release bombs and then return to its base fo ...
, contained a gyroscope guidance system and was propelled by a simple pulsejet engine, the sound of which gave it the nickname of "buzz bomb" or "doodlebug". Accuracy was sufficient only for use against very large targets (the general area of a city), while the range of 250 km was significantly lower than that of a bomber carrying the same payload. The main advantages were speed (although not sufficient to outperform contemporary propeller-driven interceptors) and expendability. The production cost of a V-1 was only a small fraction of that of a
V-2 The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), with the technical name ''Aggregat 4'' (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was develope ...
supersonic
ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within t ...
with a similar-sized warhead. Unlike the V-2, the initial deployments of the V-1 required stationary launch ramps which were susceptible to bombardment. Nazi Germany, in 1943, also developed the Mistel
composite aircraft A composite aircraft is made up of multiple ''component'' craft. It takes off and flies initially as a single aircraft, with the components able to separate in flight and continue as independent aircraft.Harper (1937) Typically the larger aircraf ...
program, which can be seen as a rudimentary air-launched cruise missile, where a piloted fighter-type aircraft was mounted atop an unpiloted bomber-sized aircraft that was packed with explosives to be released while approaching the target. Bomber-launched variants of the V-1 saw limited operational service near the end of the war, with the pioneering V-1's design reverse-engineered by the Americans as the
Republic-Ford JB-2 The Republic-Ford JB-2, also known as the Thunderbug, KGW and LTV-N-2 Loon, was a United States copy of the German V-1 flying bomb. Developed in 1944, and planned to be used in the United States invasion of Japan (Operation Downfall), t ...
cruise missile. Immediately after the war, the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...
had 21 different guided missile projects, including would-be cruise missiles. All but four were cancelled by 1948, — the
Air Materiel Command Air Materiel Command (AMC) was a United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force command. Its headquarters was located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. In 1961, the command was redesignated the Air Force Logistics Command ...
Banshee, the SM-62 Snark, the SM-64 Navaho, and the MGM-1 Matador. The Banshee design was similar to Operation Aphrodite; like Aphrodite, it failed, and was cancelled in April 1949. Concurrently, the US Navy's Operation Bumblebee, was conducted at Topsail Island,
North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...
, from c. 1 June 1946, to 28 July 1948. Bumblebee produced proof-of-concept technologies that influenced the US military's other missile projects. During the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...
, both the United States and the Soviet Union experimented further with the concept, deploying early cruise missiles from land, submarines and aircraft. The main outcome of the United States Navy submarine missile project was the SSM-N-8 Regulus missile, based upon the V-1. The United States Air Force's first operational surface-to-surface missile was the winged, mobile, nuclear-capable MGM-1 Matador, also similar in concept to the V-1. Deployment overseas began in 1954, first to
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...
and later to the Republic of China and South Korea. On 7 November 1956, the U.S. Air Force deployed Matador units in West Germany, whose missiles were capable of striking targets in the
Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republi ...
, from their fixed day-to-day sites to unannounced dispersed launch locations. This alert was in response to the crisis posed by the Soviet attack on Hungary which suppressed the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Between 1957 and 1961 the United States followed an ambitious and well-funded program to develop a nuclear-powered cruise missile, Supersonic Low Altitude Missile (SLAM). It was designed to fly below the enemy's radar at speeds above Mach 3 and carry hydrogen bombs that it would drop along its path over enemy territory. Although the concept was proven sound and the 500
megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...
engine finished a successful test run in 1961, no airworthy device was ever completed. The project was finally abandoned in favor of ICBM development. While
ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within t ...
s were the preferred weapons for land targets, heavy nuclear and
conventional weapon The terms conventional weapons or conventional arms generally refer to weapons whose ability to damage comes from kinetic, incendiary, or explosive energy and exclude weapons of mass destruction (''e.g.'' nuclear, biological, radiological and ...
tipped cruise missiles were seen by the USSR as a primary weapon to destroy United States naval carrier battle groups. Large submarines (for example, Echo and Oscar classes) were developed to carry these weapons and shadow United States battle groups at sea, and large bombers (for example, Backfire, Bear, and Blackjack models) were equipped with the weapons in their air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) configuration.


General design

Cruise missiles generally consist of a guidance system, payload, and aircraft propulsion system, housed in an airframe with small wings and
empennage The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third e ...
for flight control. Payloads usually consist of a conventional warhead or a nuclear warhead. Cruise missiles tend to be propelled by jet engine, with
turbofan The turbofan or fanjet is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used in aircraft engine, aircraft propulsion. The word "turbofan" is a portmanteau of "turbine" and "fan": the ''turbo'' portion refers to a gas turbine engine which ac ...
engines in particular being preferred due to their greater efficiency at low altitude and subsonic speed.


Guidance systems

Guidance systems also vary greatly. Low-cost systems use a radar altimeter, barometric altimeter and
clock A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and ...
to navigate a digital strip map. More advanced systems use inertial guidance, satellite guidance and terrain contour matching (TERCOM). Use of an automatic target recognition (ATR) algorithm/device in the guidance system increases accuracy of the missile. The
Standoff Land Attack Missile The AGM-84E SLAM (Standoff Land Attack Missile) was a subsonic, over-the-horizon air-launched cruise missile that was developed by McDonnell Douglas from the AGM-84 Harpoon antiship missile. The SLAM was designed to provide all-weather, day and nig ...
features an ATR unit from
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable ene ...
.


Categories

Cruise missiles can be categorized by size, speed (subsonic or supersonic), range, and whether launched from land, air, surface ship, or submarine. Often versions of the same missile are produced for different launch platforms; sometimes air- and submarine-launched versions are a little lighter and smaller than land- and ship-launched versions. Guidance systems can vary across missiles. Some missiles can be fitted with any of a variety of navigation systems ( Inertial navigation, TERCOM, or
satellite navigation A satellite navigation or satnav system is a system that uses satellites to provide autonomous geo-spatial positioning. It allows satellite navigation devices to determine their location ( longitude, latitude, and altitude/ elevation) to hig ...
). Larger cruise missiles can carry either a conventional or a nuclear warhead, while smaller ones carry only conventional warheads.


Hypersonic

A hypersonic cruise missile travels at least five times the speed of sound ( Mach 5). *
14-X The 14-X is a Brazilian scramjet engine in development by the Aerothermodynamics and Hypersonics Laboratory Henry T. Nagamatsu of the Institute of Advanced Studies (IEAv) of the Department of Aerospace Science and Technology as part of the ''Pr ...
, a scramjet engine currently under development by Brazil. *
3M22 Zircon The 3M22 Zircon also spelled as 3M22 Tsirkon (russian: Циркон, NATO reporting name: SS-N-33) is a scramjet powered maneuvering anti-ship hypersonic cruise missile produced by Russia, for the Russian Navy which has launch platforms on friga ...
(>1000–1500 km) hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile. * ASN4G (Air-Sol Nucléaire de 4e Génération) , a scramjet-powered hypersonic cruise missile * BrahMos-II (≈800–1000 km) /, a hypersonic missile under development in India and Russia. * FC/ASW (300 km) (under development) – Franco-British
stealth Stealth may refer to: Military * Stealth technology, technology used to conceal ships, aircraft, and missiles ** Stealth aircraft, aircraft which use stealth technology **Stealth ground vehicle, ground vehicles which use stealth technology ** St ...
hypersonic cruise missile concept.Janes – Perseus: MBDA's missile of the future?
* HTDV - hypersonic scramjet demonstration a carrier vehicle for hypersonic and long-range cruise missiles is being developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). * Hyfly-2 - air-launched hypersonic cruise missile first displayed at Sea Air Space 2021, developed by
Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and ...
* Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC, pronounced Hawk) - scramjet powered air-launched hypersonic cruise missile without a warhead and use its own
kinetic energy In physics, the kinetic energy of an object is the energy that it possesses due to its motion. It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity. Having gained this energy during its acce ...
upon impact to destroy the target, developed by
DARPA The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. Originally known as the A ...
* Kh-90 (3,000–4,000 km) / - a hypersonic air-to-surface cruise missile developed in 1990 by the USSR and later by Russia. This missile was designed to cruise from Mach 4 to Mach 6, eventually being able to travel at speeds lower than Mach 10–15. But this cruise-missile system did not enter service. * Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM) planned for use by the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...
. *
SCIFiRE SCIFIRE or the Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment is an American-Australian military technology partnership that is developing a solid-rocket boosted, air-breathing, hypersonic conventional cruise missile that can be launched by ...
/ - Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE) is a joint program between the
US Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...
and the Australian
Department of Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...
for a Mach 5 scramjet powered missile. In September 2021, the US Department of Defense awarded Preliminary Design Review contracts to
Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and ...
, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Missiles & Defense.


Supersonic

These missiles travel faster than the speed of sound, usually using
ramjet A ramjet, or athodyd (aero thermodynamic duct), is a form of airbreathing jet engine that uses the forward motion of the engine to produce thrust. Since it produces no thrust when stationary (no ram air) ramjet-powered vehicles require an ass ...
engines. The range is typically 100–500 km, but can be greater. Guidance systems vary. Examples: * 3M-54 Kalibr (up to 4,500 km) Russia (the "Sizzler" variant is capable of supersonic speed at the terminal stage only) * 3M-51 Alfa (250 km) * Kh-15 (300 km) * AGM-69 SRAM (200 km) United States * Air-Sol Moyenne Portée (300–500 km+) France – supersonic stand-off nuclear missile * South Korea new AShM similar to Brahmos, ramjet * BrahMos (block-I 290 km, Block-II 500 & Block-IIA 600 km) / India / Russia – fastest supersonic cruise missile (3.2 mach) and the only one to complete the tactical cruise missile triad * Blyskavka Artem Luch Pivdenmash 100 – 370 km * Hsiung Feng III (400 km) Taiwan * Yun Feng (~2,000 km) Taiwan * KD-88 China * Kh-20 (380–600 km) USSR * Kh-31 (25–110 km) Russia * Kh-32 (600–1,000 km) Russia * Kh-61 / USSR / Russia * Kh-80 (3,000–5,000 km) / * P-270 Moskit (120–250 km) / USSR / Russia *
P-500 Bazalt The P-500 ''Bazalt'' (russian: П-500 «Базальт»; en, basalt) is a turbojet-powered, supersonic cruise missile used by the Soviet and Russian navies. Its GRAU designation is 4K80 and its NATO reporting name is SS-N-12 ''Sandbox'', its ...
(550 km) / USSR / Russia * P-700 Granit (625 km) / USSR / Russia *
P-800 Oniks The P-800 Oniks (russian: П-800 Оникс; en, Onyx), also known in export markets as Yakhont (russian: Яхонт; en, ruby), is a Soviet / Russian supersonic anti-ship cruise missile developed by NPO Mashinostroyeniya as a ramjet version ...
(600–800 km) Russia * P-1000 Vulkan (800 km) / USSR / Russia *
DF-100 The CJ-100 (), also known as DF-100 (), is a Chinese Strategic long range land-attack hypersonic cruise missile. The missile system is reportedly capable of engaging land-based facilities, reinforced targets, underground bunkers and moving warship ...
China *
C-101 The C-101 is a Chinese supersonic anti-ship cruise missile. It is manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Third Academy. The C-101 was an early Chinese supersonic cruise missile. It has been described as unsuccessf ...
China * C-301 China * C-803 China – supersonic terminal stage only * C-805 China * CX-1 China * YJ-12 (250–400 km) China *
YJ-18 The YJ-18 (, NATO designation CH-SS-NX-13) is a Chinese family of anti-ship and land attack cruise missiles. Description The United States Department of Defense believes the YJ-18 is similar to the Russian 3M-54 Klub, with a subsonic cruise mo ...
(220–540 km) China * YJ-91 China * SSM-N-9 Regulus II (1,852 km) United States


Intercontinental-range supersonic

*
9M730 Burevestnik The 9M730 Burevestnik (russian: Буревестник; "Petrel", NATO reporting name: SSC-X-9 Skyfall) is a Russian experimental nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed cruise missile under development for the Russian Armed Forces. The missile has an ...
(Unlimited Range) Russia * Burya (8,500 km) USSR * MKR (8,000 km) USSR *
RSS-40 Buran The Buran cruise missile, designation RSS-40, was a Soviet intercontinental cruise missile by Myasishchev capable of carrying a 3,500 kg hydrogen bomb payload. The project was canceled before flight tests began. It is unrelated to the later ...
(8,500 km) USSR * SLAM (cancelled in 1964) United States * SM-62 Snark (10,200 km) United States * SM-64 Navaho (canceled in 1958) United States


Long-range subsonic

The United States, Russia, North Korea, India, Iran, South Korea, Israel, France, China and Pakistan have developed several long-range subsonic cruise missiles. These missiles have a range of over and fly at about . They typically have a launch weight of about and can carry either a conventional or a nuclear warhead. Earlier versions of these missiles used inertial navigation; later versions use much more accurate TERCOM and
DSMAC Terrain contour matching, or TERCOM, is a navigation system used primarily by cruise missiles. It uses a pre-recorded contour map of the terrain that is compared with measurements made during flight by an on-board radar altimeter. A TERCOM syste ...
systems. Most recent versions can use
satellite navigation A satellite navigation or satnav system is a system that uses satellites to provide autonomous geo-spatial positioning. It allows satellite navigation devices to determine their location ( longitude, latitude, and altitude/ elevation) to hig ...
. Examples: * 3M-54 Kalibr (up to 4,500 km) Russia *
AGM-86 ALCM The AGM-86 ALCM is an American subsonic air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) built by Boeing and operated by the United States Air Force. This missile was developed to increase the effectiveness and survivability of the Boeing B-52H Stratofortres ...
United States * AGM-129 ACM United States *
AGM-181 LRSO The AGM-181 Long Range Stand Off Weapon (LRSO) is a nuclear-armed air-launched cruise missile under development by Raytheon Technologies that will replace the AGM-86 ALCM. Development As of August 24, 2017, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin received ...
United States * BGM-109 Tomahawk (up to 1,700 km) United States * BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile (2,500 km) * Kh-55 (3,000 km) and Kh-65 Russia *
Kh-101 The Kh-55 (russian: Х-55, also known as RKV-500; NATO reporting name: AS-15 "Kent") is a Soviet/Russian subsonic air-launched cruise missile, designed by MKB Raduga in the 1970s. It has a range of up to and can carry nuclear warheads. Kh- ...
(4500–5500 km) Russia * Iskander-K not less than 3 500 km * Geumseong 4 North Korea > 1000 2000 km * RK-55 (3,000 km) Soviet Union * Nirbhay India (up to 1500 km) * Meshkat Iran (Range 2000 km) *
MdCN Storm Shadow is an Anglo-French low-observable, long-range, air-launched cruise missile developed since 1994 by Matra and British Aerospace, and now manufactured by MBDA. Storm Shadow is the weapon's British appellation. In French service, it is ...
(>1,000 km) France * Soumar Iran (Range allegedly 2,000–3,000 km) * Hoveyzeh (Cruise Missile) Iran (Range 1,350 km) * Quds 1 Houthi * Hsiung Feng IIE Taiwan * Hyunmoo III South Korea (Hyunmoo IIIA-500 km, Hyunmoo IIIB-1000 km, Hyunmoo IIIC-1500 km) * Type 12 SSM Japan * MGM-13 Mace United States * DF-10/CJ-10 China (CJ-10K - 1500 km, CJ-20 - 2000 km) * Popeye Turbo SLCM Israel * GEZGİN (800-1,200 km) Turkey


Medium-range subsonic

These missiles are about the same size and weight and fly at similar speeds to the above category. Guidance systems vary. Examples: * Storm Shadow/SCALP (560 km) / France/UK * Taurus KEPD 350 (500+ km) // Germany / Sweden / Spain * Kh-50 (Kh-SD) and Kh-101 Kh-65 variants Russia * P-5 Pyatyorka (450–750 km) Russia, North Korea * Raad Iran (360 km) *
Ya-Ali Yā Muhammad ( ar, يَا مُحَمَّد "O Muhammad") or "Yā Rasūl Allāh" ( ar, يَا رَسُولُ الله "O Messenger of God") are Arabic expressions referring to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Definition The phrase means "O Muhammad ...
(700 km) Iran * Hyunmoo-3 (within 1500 km) South Korea * Babur-1 Pakistan (300 km) * Babur-1 A Pakistan (450 km) * Babur-1 B Pakistan (600+ km) * Babur-2 Pakistan (650 km) * Babur-3 Pakistan (450 km) *
Ra'ad ALCM The Ra'ad ( ur, رعد, "Thunder") is a Pakistani air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) . The missile was first tested in August 2007. Development and design The Ra'ad is a joint project developed by Pakistan Air Force's Air Weapons Complex and ...
(350 km) Pakistan * Ra'ad Mark-2 ALCM (400 km) Pakistan * Zarb (320 km) Pakistan * Harbah (250–450 km) Pakistan *
KD-63 The SY (), and HY () series were early anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCM) developed by the People's Republic of China from the Soviet P-15 Termit missile. They entered service in the late 1960s and remained the main ASCMs deployed by the People's L ...
China * SOM (SOM B Block I) Turkey (350 km range under serial production, 500 km + range under development) – 500 km, 1500 km and 2500 km versions * AGM-158 JASSM (370–1900 km) United States *
AGM-158C LRASM The AGM-158C LRASM (Long Range Anti-Ship Missile) is a stealthy anti-ship cruise missile developed for the United States Air Force and United States Navy by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The LRASM was intended to pionee ...
(USA) (370 km+-560 km+) United States * MGM-1 Matador (700 km) United States * SSM-N-8 Regulus (926 km) United States


Short-range subsonic

These are subsonic missiles that weigh around and have a range of up to . Examples: * Apache (100–140 km) France *
AVMT-300 The AV-TM 300 Tactical Missile or MTC-300 (Míssil Tático de Cruzeiro) is a Brazilian cruise missile developed by Avibras for the Astros II system. Nicknamed ''Matador'' ("killer"), it is projected to be a less expensive alternative to the Amer ...
(300 km) Brazil * MICLA-BR (300 km) Brazil * Hyunmoo-3 (over 300 km) shorter range South Korea * SSM-700K Haeseong (180+ km) South Korea * Kh-35 (130–300 km) Russia, KN-19 Ks3/4 North Korea * Kh-59 (115–550 km) Russia * P-15 (40–80 km) Russia, KN-1 North Korea * Nasr-1 Iran * Zafar (25 km) Iran * Noor Iran * Qader Iran * Naval Strike Missile (185–555 km) Norway *
RBS-15 The RBS 15 (Robotsystem 15) is a long-range fire-and-forget surface-to-surface and air-to-surface anti-ship missile. The later version Mk. III has the ability to attack land targets as well. The missile was developed by the Swedish company Sa ...
Sweden *
Korshun This is a complete list of variants and designations of the BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle (IFV). It is sorted by country of origin. Variants Soviet Union Infantry fighting vehicles * BMP (Ob'yekt 764) – The original main prototype of the ...
a locally derivative of Kh-55 and RK-55, made by Artem Luch Vizar (ZhMZ), KhAZ,
Yuzhnoe Pivdenmash, powered by an AI Progress Motor Sich MS-400 like Neptun missile and same builders designer. * Neptune Ukraine *
V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug and in Germany ...
(250 km) Nazi Germany * Hsiung Feng II Taiwan * Wan Chien Taiwan * VCM-01 Vietnam 100–300 km * Aist Belarus 100 200 – 300 km * Marte ER 100+ km : Sea Killer export variant * Otomat (180 km) / France / Italy : Otomat Mk2 E / Teseo Mk2/E 360 km new turbofan * C-801 (40 km) China *
C-802 The YJ-83 (; NATO reporting name: CSS-N-8 Saccade) is a Chinese subsonic anti-ship cruise missile. It is manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Third Academy.Gromley et al.: page 101 Description The YJ-83 uses m ...
(120–230 km) China * C-803 China * C-805 China * C-602 China *
CM-602G The YJ-62 () is a Chinese subsonic anti-ship cruise missile. It is manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Third Academy. Description In a September 2014 article published in Joint Forces Quarterly, the YJ-62 is cr ...
China * Delilah missile (250 km) Israel * Gabriel IV (200 km) Israel * Popeye turbo ALCM (78 km) Israel * RGM-84 Harpoon (124–310 km) United States * AGM-84E Standoff Land Attack Missile (110 km) United States *
AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER The AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER (Standoff Land Attack Missile-Expanded Response) is an advanced stand off precision-guided, air-launched cruise missile produced by Boeing Defense, Space & Security for the United States Armed Forces and their allies. Devel ...
(270 km) United States * Silkworm (100–500 km) China * SOM Turkey * Atmaca Turkey * Çakır Turkey


Deployment

The most common mission for cruise missiles is to attack relatively high-value targets such as ships, command bunkers, bridges and dams. Modern guidance systems permit accurate attacks. , the BGM-109 Tomahawk missile model has become a significant part of the United States naval arsenal. It gives ships and submarines an extremely accurate, long-range, conventional land attack weapon. Each costs about US$1.99 million. Both the Tomahawk and the AGM-86 were used extensively during Operation Desert Storm. On 7 April 2017, during the Syrian Civil War, U.S. warships fired more than 50 cruise missiles into a Syrian air base in retaliation for a Syrian Sarin gas attack against a rebel stronghold. The
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...
(USAF) deploys an air-launched cruise missile, the
AGM-86 ALCM The AGM-86 ALCM is an American subsonic air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) built by Boeing and operated by the United States Air Force. This missile was developed to increase the effectiveness and survivability of the Boeing B-52H Stratofortres ...
. The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is the exclusive delivery vehicle for the AGM-86 and AGM-129 ACM. Both missile types are configurable for either conventional or nuclear warheads. The USAF adopted the AGM-86 for its bomber fleet while AGM-109 was adapted to launch from trucks and ships and adopted by the USAF and Navy. The truck-launched versions, and also the Pershing II and SS-20 Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles, were later destroyed under the bilateral INF (Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces) treaty with the USSR. The British
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...
(RN) also operates cruise missiles, specifically the U.S.-made Tomahawk, used by the RN's nuclear submarine fleet. UK conventional warhead versions were first fired in combat by the RN in 1999, during the
Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...
(the United States fired cruise missiles in 1991). The
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
uses the Storm Shadow cruise missile on its
Typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...
and previously its Tornado GR4 aircraft. It is also used by France, where it is known as SCALP EG, and carried by the
Armée de l'Air The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Ar ...
's Mirage 2000 and Rafale aircraft. India and Russia have jointly developed the supersonic cruise missile BrahMos. There are three versions of the Brahmos: ship/land-launched, air-launched and sub-launched. The ship/land-launched version were operational as of late 2007. The Brahmos has the capability to attack targets on land. Russia also continues to operate other cruise missiles: the
SS-N-12 Sandbox The P-500 ''Bazalt'' (russian: П-500 «Базальт»; en, basalt) is a turbojet-powered, supersonic cruise missile used by the Soviet and Russian navies. Its GRAU designation is 4K80 and its NATO reporting name is SS-N-12 ''Sandbox'', its up ...
,
SS-N-19 Shipwreck The P-700 ''Granit'' (russian: П-700 "Гранит"; en, granite) is a Soviet and Russian naval anti-ship cruise missile. Its GRAU designation is 3M45, its NATO reporting name SS-N-19 ''Shipwreck''. It comes in surface-to-surface and submar ...
, SS-N-22 Sunburn and SS-N-25 Switchblade. Germany and Spain operate the Taurus missile while Pakistan has made the
Babur missile Babur (Urdu: بابر; named after the first Mughal Emperor Zahir-ud-Din Babur), military designated: Hatf-VII, ''Translit'': ''Target–7'', is a Pakistani medium range turbojet powered subsonic cruise missile that can be launched from land ...
Both the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
and the Republic of China (
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...
) have designed several cruise missile variants, such as the well-known
C-802 The YJ-83 (; NATO reporting name: CSS-N-8 Saccade) is a Chinese subsonic anti-ship cruise missile. It is manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Third Academy.Gromley et al.: page 101 Description The YJ-83 uses m ...
, some of which are capable of carrying biological, chemical, nuclear, and conventional warheads.


Nuclear warhead versions


China

China has CJ-10 land attack cruise missile which is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. Additionally, China appears to have tested a hypersonic cruise missile in August 2021, a claim it denies.


France

The French Force de Frappe nuclear forces include both land and sea-based bombers with Air-Sol Moyenne Portée (ASMP) high speed medium range nuclear cruise missiles. Two models are in use, ASMP and a newer ASMP-Ameliorer Plus (ASMP-A), which was developed in 1999. An estimated 40 to 50 were produced.


India

India in 2017 successfully flight-tested its indigenous Nirbhay ('Fearless') land-attack cruise missile, which can deliver nuclear warheads to a strike range of 1,000-km. Nirbhay had been flight-tested successfully.


Israel

The Israel Defense Forces reportedly deploy the medium-range air-launched Popeye Turbo ALCM and the Popeye Turbo SLCM medium-long range cruise missile with nuclear warheads on Dolphin class submarines.


Pakistan

Pakistan currently has four cruise missile systems: the air-launched Ra'ad and its enhanced version Ra'ad II; the ground and underwater launched
Babur Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through hi ...
; ship-launched Harbah missile and surface launched
Zarb missile Zarb may refer to: a common Maltese surname. Zarb is a Semitic name, and is phonetically similar to other names in Middle Eastern countries such as the Lebanese "Harb". Surname *Frank Zarb (born 1935), American businessman and former Republican ...
. Both, Ra'ad and
Babur Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through hi ...
, can carry nuclear warheads between 10 and 25 kt, and deliver them to targets at a range of up to and respectively. Babur has been in service with the Pakistan Army since 2010.


Russia

Russia has Kh-55SM cruise missiles, with a range similar to the United States' AGM-129 range of 3000 km, but are able to carry a more powerful warhead of 200 kt. They are equipped with a TERCOM system which allows them to cruise at an altitude lower than 110 meters at subsonic speeds while obtaining a
CEP ''Boletus edulis'' (English: cep, penny bun, porcino or porcini) is a basidiomycete fungus, and the type species of the genus ''Boletus''. Widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere across Europe, Asia, and North America, it does not occu ...
accuracy of 15 meters with an
inertial navigation system An inertial navigation system (INS) is a navigation device that uses motion sensors ( accelerometers), rotation sensors ( gyroscopes) and a computer to continuously calculate by dead reckoning the position, the orientation, and the velocity ...
. They are air-launched from either Tupolev Tu-95s, Tupolev Tu-22Ms, or Tupolev Tu-160s, each able to carry 16 for the Tu-95, 12 for the Tu-160, and 4 for the Tu-22M. A
stealth Stealth may refer to: Military * Stealth technology, technology used to conceal ships, aircraft, and missiles ** Stealth aircraft, aircraft which use stealth technology **Stealth ground vehicle, ground vehicles which use stealth technology ** St ...
version of the missile, the Kh-101 is in development. It has similar qualities as the Kh-55, except that its range has been extended to 5,000 km, equipped with a 1,000 kg conventional warhead, and has stealth features which reduces its probability of intercept. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the most recent cruise missile developed was the Kalibr missile which entered production in the early 1990s and officially inducted into the Russian arsenal in 1994. However, it only saw its combat debut on 7 October 2015, in
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
as a part of the Russian military campaign in Syria. The missile has been used 14 more times in combat operations in Syria since its debut. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Soviet Union was attempting to develop cruise missiles. In this short time frame, the Soviet Union was working on nearly ten different types of cruise missiles. However, due to resources, most of the initial types of cruise missiles developed by the Soviet Union were Sea-Launched Cruise Missiles or Submarine-Launched Cruise Missiles ( SLCMs). The SS-N-1 cruise missile was developed to have different configurations to be fired from a submarine or a ship. However, as the time progressed, the Soviet Union began to work on air launched cruise missiles as well ( ALCM). These ACLM missiles were typically delivered via bombers designated as "Blinders" or "Backfire". The missiles in this configuration were called the AS-1, and AS-2 with eventual new variants with more development time. The main purpose of Soviet-based cruise missiles was to have defense and offensive mechanisms against enemy ships; in other words most of the Soviet cruise missiles were anti-ship missiles. the 1980s the Soviet Union had developed an arsenal of cruise missiles nearing 600 platforms which consisted of land, sea, and air delivery systems.


United States

The United States has deployed nine nuclear cruise missiles at one time or another. * MGM-1 Matador ground-launched missile, out of service * MGM-13 Mace ground-launched missile, out of service * SSM-N-8 Regulus submarine-launched missile, out of service * SM-62 Snark ground-launched missile, out of service * AGM-28 Hound Dog air-launched missile, out of service * BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile, out of service *
AGM-86 ALCM The AGM-86 ALCM is an American subsonic air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) built by Boeing and operated by the United States Air Force. This missile was developed to increase the effectiveness and survivability of the Boeing B-52H Stratofortres ...
air-launched cruise missile, 350 to 550 missiles and W80 warheads still in service * BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missile in nuclear submarine-, surface ship-, and ground-launched models, nuclear models out of service but warheads kept in reserve. * AGM-129 ACM air-launched missile, out of service


Efficiency in modern warfare

Currently cruise missiles are among the most expensive of single-use weapons, up to several million dollars apiece. One consequence of this is that its users face difficult choices in target allocation, to avoid expending the missiles on targets of low value. For instance, during the 2001 strikes on Afghanistan the United States attacked targets of very low monetary value with cruise missiles, which led many to question the efficiency of the weapon. However, proponents of the cruise missile counter that the weapon can not be blamed for poor target selection and the same argument applies to other types of
UAV An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...
s: they are cheaper than human pilots when total training and infrastructure costs are taken into account, not to mention the risk of loss of personnel. As demonstrated in Libya in 2011 and prior conflicts, cruise missiles are much more difficult to detect and intercept than other aerial assets (reduced radar cross-section, infrared and visual signature due to smaller size), suiting them to attacks against static air defense systems.


See also

*
Affordable Weapon System The Affordable Weapon System is a US Navy program to design and produce a low cost "off the shelf" cruise missile launchable from a self-contained unit mounted in a standard shipping container. Specifications * Length: (w/o booster): 3.32 m (10&n ...
* Cruise missile submarine * Eugene Vielle (pioneer of technology that led to the Cruise missile) * Expendable launch system *
List of cruise missiles The following is a list of cruise missiles. References {{Reflist * Cruise missile A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight p ...
* List of rocket aircraft * Lists of weapons * Low Cost Miniature Cruise Missile * NATO reporting name (has lists of various Soviet missiles) *
Weapon of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natu ...


References

https://uslivenic.com/3m22-zircon-missile-russias-fastest-missile/


External links

*
3M22 Zircon missile – Russia’s fastest missile.

Cruise MissileRussia Cruise missile
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