A ballistic missile can travel thousands of kilometers not because its engine operates throughout the entire route. After acceleration, the missile or its warhead continues to move along a calculated trajectory under the influence of inertia and gravity. This is where the name comes from – ballistic trajectory.
"Perviy Tekhnicheskiy" tells what ballistic missiles are in service with Russia and how they differ from cruise missiles.
What is ballistics in simple terms
If explained without formulas, ballistics is the science of the movement of a body after its acceleration. The missile is given speed and direction, after which its trajectory is calculated taking into account gravity and atmospheric resistance.
For intercontinental missiles, the boost phase takes warheads beyond the dense layers of the atmosphere. They then move along a suborbital trajectory and return to Earth at enormous speed.
Which missiles fly the farthest
In the Russian arsenal, intercontinental ballistic missiles are among the longest-range. The RS-28 "Sarmat" belongs to the heavy class, and its declared maximum range reaches 18,000 km.
For the mobile RS-24 "Yars", the maximum range is usually indicated at about 11,000–12,000 km. The missile belongs to ICBMs and can be equipped with a multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle.
The naval R-30 "Bulava" is designed for Borei-class nuclear missile submarines. Its range is 9300 km. The missile is launched directly from a submerged position, using a dry launch from the submarine's missile silo.
For comparison, the 9M723 of the "Iskander-M" complex belongs to the operational-tactical class. Its declared range is up to 500 km. This is not an ICBM, but also a ballistic missile in terms of trajectory construction, with an important feature: it is capable of actively maneuvering in certain parts of its flight. Therefore, it is often called quasi-ballistic.
How a ballistic missile differs from a conventional one
The main difference is the nature of movement. A cruise missile flies most of its route within the atmosphere with its engine running and is constantly controlled. A ballistic missile, after acceleration, travels a significant part of its path along a calculated trajectory.
That is why an intercontinental missile can travel 10,000 km or more. However, range itself does not determine the class, as there are tactical and operational-tactical ballistic missiles with a much smaller range.
To summarize: a cruise missile "flies" most of the way, while a ballistic missile, after acceleration, largely "falls" along a pre-calculated trajectory.
Read more on the topic:
- ICBMs "Yars", "Sarmat" and "Topol-M": NYT Analysis Impressed by Russia's Missile Arsenal
- A clear comparison of the RS-28 Sarmat with Western missiles has appeared: the result is not in favor of the LGM-30G Minuteman III and DF-41
- The newest Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles will assume combat duty