Acruise missile is an unmanned self-propelled guided missile that sustains flight through aerodynamic lift for most of its flight path. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large payload over long distances with high precision. Modern cruise missiles are capable of traveling at highsubsonic,supersonic, orhypersonic speeds, are self-navigating, and are able to fly on a non-ballistic, extremely low-altitude trajectory.[1]
The idea of an "aerial torpedo" was shown in the British 1909 filmThe Airship Destroyer in which flying torpedoes controlled wirelessly are used to bring down airships bombingLondon.[2]
In theSoviet Union,Sergei Korolev headed theGIRD-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) containedgyroscopic guidance systems.[5] The vehicle was designed to boost to 28 km (17 mi) altitude and glide a distance of 280 km (170 mi), but test flights in 1934 and 1936 only reached an altitude of 500 metres (1,600 ft).
In 1944, duringWorld War II, Germany deployed the first operational cruise missiles. TheV-1, often called aflying bomb, contained a gyroscope guidance system and was propelled by a simplepulsejet engine, the sound of which gave it the nickname of "buzz bomb" or "doodlebug".[6] Accuracy was sufficient only for use against very large targets (the general area of a city), while the range of 250 km (160 mi) 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 aV-2supersonicballistic missile with a similar-sized warhead.[7] Unlike the V-2, the initial deployments of the V-1 required stationary launch ramps which were susceptible to bombardment.[8] Nazi Germany, in 1943, also developed theMistelcomposite aircraft 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 theRepublic-Ford JB-2 cruise missile.[9]
Immediately after World War II, theUnited States Air Force had 21 different guided missile projects, including proposed cruise missiles. By 1948, all but four of these projects had been canceled: theAir Materiel Command Banshee, theSM-62 Snark, theSM-64 Navaho, and the MGM-1 Matador. The Banshee design was similar toOperation Aphrodite; like Aphrodite, it failed, and was canceled in April 1949.[10] Concurrently, the US Navy'sOperation Bumblebee, was conducted atTopsail Island,North Carolina, 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 theCold War, both the United States and the Soviet Union experimented further with the concept, of deploying early cruise missiles from land, submarines, and aircraft. The main outcome of the United States Navy submarine missile project was theSSM-N-8 Regulus missile, based upon the V-1 but powered by anAllison J33 jet engine. The Regulus entered service but was phased out with the advent ofsubmarine launched ballistic missiles that did not require the submarine to surface in order to launch the missile and guide it to its target.
The United States Air Force's first operational surface-to-surface missile was the winged, mobile, nuclear-capableMGM-1 Matador, also similar in concept to the V-1. Deployment overseas began in 1954, first toWest Germany and later to theRepublic 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 theWarsaw Pact, 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 theHungarian 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 aboveMach 3 and carryhydrogen bombs that it would drop along its path over enemy territory. Although the concept was proven sound and the 500-megawatt (670,000 hp) engine finished a successful test run in 1961, no airworthy device was ever completed. The project was finally abandoned in favor ofICBM development.
Whileballistic missiles were the preferred weapons for land targets, heavy nuclear andconventional weapon tipped cruise missiles were seen by the USSR as a primary weapon to destroy United States navalcarrier battle groups. Large submarines (for example,Echo andOscar classes) were developed to carry these weapons and shadow United States battle groups at sea, and large bombers (for example,Backfire,Bear, andBlackjack models) were equipped with the weapons in their air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) configuration.
Cruise missiles can be categorized by payload/warhead size, speed, range, and launch platform. Often variants of the same missile are produced for different launch platforms (for instance, air- and submarine-launched versions).
Guidance systems can vary across missiles. Some missiles can be fitted with any of a variety of navigation systems (Inertial navigation,TERCOM, orsatellite navigation). Larger cruise missiles can carry either a conventional or a nuclear warhead, while smaller ones carry only conventional warheads.
These missiles travel faster than the speed of sound, usually usingramjet engines. The range is typically 100–500 km, but can be greater. Guidance systems vary.
Examples:
ASALM US ALCM prototype, test-flown to hypersonic Mach 5.5
3M-54 Kalibr (4,500 km, Mach 3) (the "Sizzler" variant is capable of supersonic speed at the terminal stage only)
India's Nirbhay missiles mounted on a truck-based launcher
China, France, India, Iran, Israel, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea, Ukraine, and the United States have developed several long-range subsonic cruise missiles. These missiles have a range of over 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) and fly at about 800 kilometres per hour (500 mph).[48] They typically have a launch weight of about 1,500 kilograms (3,300 lb)[49] and can carry either a conventional or a nuclear warhead. Earlier versions of these missiles usedinertial navigation; later versions use much more accurateTERCOM andDSMAC systems. Most recent versions can usesatellite navigation.
The most common mission for cruise missiles is to attack relatively high-value targets such as ships, command bunkers, bridges and dams.[67] Modern guidance systems permit accurate attacks.
As of 2001[update], the BGM-109Tomahawk missile model has become a significant part of the United States naval arsenal. It gives ships and submarines a somewhat accurate, long-range, conventional land attack weapon. Each costs about US$1.99 million.[68] Both the Tomahawk and the AGM-86 were used extensively duringOperation Desert Storm. On 7 April 2017, during theSyrian Civil War, U.S. warships fired more than 50 cruise missiles into a Syrian airbase in retaliation for a Syrian chemical weapons attack against a rebel stronghold.[69]
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 BritishRoyal Navy (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 theKosovo War (the United States fired cruise missiles in 1991). TheRoyal Air Force uses theStorm Shadow cruise missile on itsTyphoon and previously itsTornado GR4 aircraft. It is also used by France, where it is known as SCALP EG, and carried by theArmée de l'Air'sMirage 2000 andRafale aircraft.
TheIndian Army's BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles mounted on Mobile Autonomous Launchers (MAL)
India and Russia have jointly developed the supersonic cruise missileBrahMos. There are three versions of the Brahmos: ship/land-launched, air-launched, and sub-launched. The ship/land-launched version was operational as of late 2007. The Brahmos have the capability to attack targets on land. Russia also continues to operate other cruise missiles: theSS-N-12 Sandbox,SS-N-19 Shipwreck,SS-N-22 Sunburn andSS-N-25 Switchblade. Germany and Spain operate theTaurus missile while Pakistan has made theBabur missile[70] Both thePeople's Republic of China and theRepublic of China (Taiwan) have designed several cruise missile variants, such as the well-knownC-802, some of which are capable of carrying biological, chemical, nuclear, and conventional warheads.
China has theCJ-10 land attack cruise missile which is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.[71] Additionally, China appears to have tested a hypersonic cruise missile in August 2021, a claim it denies.[72]
The FrenchForce de frappe nuclear forces include both land and sea-based bombers withAir-Sol Moyenne Portée (ASMP) high-speed medium-range nuclear cruise missiles. Two models are in use, ASMP and a newer ASMP-Amelioré (ASMP-A), which was developed in 1999. An estimated 40 to 50 were produced.[73][74]
India in 2017 successfully flight-tested its indigenousNirbhay ('Fearless') land-attack cruise missile, which can deliver nuclear warheads to a strike range of 1,000 km.[75] Nirbhay had been flight-tested successfully.[75][76]
Russia hasKh-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 aTERCOM system which allows them to cruise at an altitude lower than 110 meters at subsonic speeds while obtaining aCEP accuracy of 15 meters with aninertial navigation system. They are air-launched from eitherTupolev Tu-95s,Tupolev Tu-22Ms, orTupolev Tu-160s, each able to carry 16 for the Tu-95, 12 for the Tu-160, and 4 for the Tu-22M. Astealth 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, is equipped with a 1,000 kg conventional warhead, and has stealth features which reduce its probability of intercept.[84]
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the most recent cruise missile developed was theKalibr missile which entered production in the early 1990s and was officially inducted into the Russian arsenal in 1994. However, it only saw its combat debut on 7 October 2015, inSyria as a part of theRussian 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). TheSS-N-1 cruise missile was developed to have different configurations to be fired from a submarine or a ship. However, as 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. In the 1980s the Soviet Union had developed an arsenal of cruise missiles nearing 600 platforms which consisted of land, sea, and air delivery systems.[85]
AGM-86 ALCM air-launched cruise missile, 350 to 550 missiles andW80 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.
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 intarget allocation, to avoid expending the missiles on targets of low value. For instance, duringthe 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 ofUAVs: 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 inLibya 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.
