A surface-to-surface missile (SSM) or ground-to-ground missile (GGM) is a

missile In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocke ...

designed to be launched from the ground or the sea and strike targets on land or at sea. They may be fired from hand-held or vehicle mounted devices, from fixed installations, or from a ship. They are often powered by a

rocket engine A rocket engine uses stored rocket propellants as the reaction mass for forming a high-speed propulsive jet of fluid, usually high-temperature gas. Rocket engines are reaction engines, producing thrust by ejecting mass rearward, in accorda ...

or sometimes fired by an explosive charge, since the launching platform is typically stationary or moving slowly. They usually have fins and/or wings for

lift Lift or LIFT may refer to: Physical devices * Elevator, or lift, a device used for raising and lowering people or goods ** Paternoster lift, a type of lift using a continuous chain of cars which do not stop ** Patient lift, or Hoyer lift, mobil ...

and stability, although hyper-velocity or short-ranged missiles may use body lift or fly a ballistic trajectory. The

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...

was the first operational surface-to-surface missile. Contemporary surface-to-surface missiles are usually guided. An unguided surface-to-surface missile is usually referred to as a

rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

(for example, an

RPG-7 The RPG-7 (russian: link=no, РПГ-7, Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт, Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomyot) is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Th ...

or M72 LAW is an

anti-tank rocket Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first devel ...

whereas a

BGM-71 TOW The BGM-71 TOW ("Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided") is an American anti-tank missile. TOW replaced much smaller missiles like the SS.10 and ENTAC, offering roughly twice the effective range, a more powerful warhead, and a greatly ...

or AT-2 Swatter is an

anti-tank guided missile An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder ...

). Examples of surface-to-surface missile include the MGM-140 ATACMS, the Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB) and the

Long Range Precision Fires The Field Artillery Branch is a combat arms branch of the United States Army that is responsible for field artillery. Historical background The U.S. Army Field Artillery branch traces its origins to 17 November 1775 when the Continental Congr ...

(LRPF).

Examples

MGM-166 LOSAT The MGM-166 LOSAT (Line-of-Sight Anti-Tank) was a United States anti-tank missile system designed by Lockheed Martin (originally Vought) to defeat tanks and other individual targets. Instead of using a high explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead lik ...

* MGM-140 ATACMS *

PARS 3 LR The PARS 3 LR in German service, also known as TRIGAT-LR (Third Generation AntiTank, Long Range) and AC 3G in French, is a fire-and-forget missile, which can be used against air or ground targets. It is intended for long range applications and d ...

Polyphem The Polyphem was a proposed light-weight fibre-optic wire-guided surface-to-surface missile with a range of 60 km. It uses a sealed round, a solid propellant booster rocket to launch the missile out of its canister to an initial height, so t ...

* ALAS * KARA Atmaca *

Hermes Hermes (; grc-gre, wikt:Ἑρμῆς, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travelle ...

Nimrod Nimrod (; ; arc, ܢܡܪܘܕ; ar, نُمْرُود, Numrūd) is a biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush and therefore a great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of ...

Otomat The Otomat is an anti-ship and coastal defence missile developed by the Italian company Oto Melara jointly with Matra and now made by MBDA. The name comes, for the first versions, from the name of the two builders ("Oto Melara" and "Matra") an ...

* Bina *

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 ...

Luz Luz ( ''Lūz'') is the name of two places in the Bible. Mentioned in Genesis Luz is the ancient name of a royal Canaanite city, connected with Bethel (Genesis 28:19; 35:6). It is debated among scholarsRashi on 28:17 whether Luz and Bethel repres ...

Kh-35 The Zvezda Kh-35 (russian: Х-35 , AS-20 'Kayak') is a Soviet turbojet subsonic cruise anti-ship missile. The missile can be launched from helicopters, surface ships and coastal defence batteries with the help of a rocket booster, in which c ...

Kh-58 The Kh-58 (russian: Х-58; NATO:AS-11 'Kilter') is a Soviet anti-radiation missile with a range of 120 km. the Kh-58U variant was still the primary anti-radiation missile of Russia and its allies. It is being superseded by the Kh-31. The N ...

Lightweight Multirole Missile Martlet is a lightweight air-to-surface, surface-to-air, and surface-to-surface missile developed by Thales Air Defence for the United Kingdom. It is named after a mythical bird from English heraldry that never roosts, the martlet. Developed ...

Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon The Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) is a medium-range surface-to-surface boost-glide hypersonic missile planned for use by the United States Army. The United States Navy intends to procure a ship/submarine-launched variant of the missile as ...

(LRHW) *

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 ...

* 3M-54 Kalibr * BGM-109 Tomahawk *Hyunmoo-3

Types

Surface-to-surface missiles are usually divided into a number of categories: *Ballistic missiles travel in a high trajectory, motor burns out partway through flight **Tactical ballistic missile: Range between about 150 km and 300 km ***Battlefield range ballistic missile (BRBM): Range less than 200 km **Theatre ballistic missile (TBM): range between 300 km and 3500 km ***Short-range ballistic missile (SRBM): Range 1000 km or less ***Medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM): Range between 1000 km and 3500 km **Intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) or Intermediate-range ballistic missile, Long-range ballistic missile (LRBM): Range between 3500 km and 5500 km **Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM): Range greater than 5500 km **Submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM): Launched from ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs), all current designs have intercontinental range. * Cruise missiles travel low to the ground, motor burns during entire flight, typical range 2,500 km (1,500 mi) * Anti-tank guided missiles travel low to the ground, may or may not burn motor throughout flight, typical range 5 km (3 mi) * Anti-ship missiles travel low over the ground and sea, and often pop up or before striking the target ship; typical range 130 km (80 mi) Different parties break down missile type by the range differently. For example, the United States Department of Defense has no definition for LRBM, and thus defines an ICBM as those missiles with ranges greater than 5,500 km (3500 mi). The International Institute for Strategic Studies also does not define a range for LRBMs, and defines SRBMs as having somewhat shorter ranges than the definition used by the Department of Defense.

References

{{Authority control Missile types Surface-to-surface missiles,