Questions tagged [missiles]
In modern military usage, a missile, or guided missile, is a self-propelled precision-guided munition system, as opposed to an unguided self-propelled munition, referred to as a rocket. All known existing missiles are designed to be propelled during powered flight by chemical reactions inside a rocket engine, jet engine, or other type of engine.
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Why don't airliners carry radar jamming technology or missile counter measures?
Why is it that commercial passenger aircraft that fly through dangerous areas don't carry some sort of electronic counter measure to defend themselves from missiles? Between terrorism and the various ...
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Why do cruise missiles look different than subsonic jet aircraft?
They both fly. They both carry loads.
Why do cruise missiles look too different from subsonic jet aircraft?
user8792
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Do fighter jets have forward-looking radar warnings for missiles, and when was this first implemented?
Let's imagine a swarm of fighter jets intercepting another swarm. Both groups are moving head-on towards each other. Once they get in range, they will probably lock on and fire missiles.
Do fighter ...
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Can anti-radiation missiles be used to target stealth fighter aircraft?
What I understand is that anti-radiation missiles are accurate and long range.
So, assume that a fighter aircraft is 100% invisible on radar. However, its radar is transmitting energy continuously ...
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Is it allowed to mount fake missiles on a civilian aircraft?
In this answer to a question asking to identify an aircraft, we can see a picture of a Aero L-39 Albatros with some missiles hanging from the wings:
(flickr.com) N915WE.
Supposedly, this is a ...
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How does the Guardian counter-MANPADS system work?
I came across this picture of a FedEx McDonnell Douglas DC-10 equipped with an anti-missile defense system.
(wikimedia.org)
According to the picture description:
FedEx became the first U.S. ...
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Could a SR-71 be shot down today?
I've read that the SR-71 had no missile defenses because it could simply outrun any adversary. Is this still true? Or is it unlikely that the SR-71 could operate unimpeded in the face of modern ...
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Can a civilian aircraft pilot see a missile coming?
Can a civilian aircraft pilot see a missile coming?
By "civilian aircraft," I mean planes that were not equipped with flares that fire when rockets approach or any similar anti-missile systems. If ...
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Why do heavy bombers not carry air-to-air missiles?
Imagine a heavy bomber – such as the B52, Tu160 or B1 – is heading toward a hot zone carrying a large number of AMRAAM or longer ranged missiles. Why doesn't it also carry air-to-air ...
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How do combat jets know when to launch flares to counter IR missiles?
From my related question, it seems fighter jets do not usually track missiles by radar. Instead, they have a system that warns of radar lock.
So what about infrared missiles (heat-seeking missiles)? ...
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In what manner was the Vympel R-73 (AA-11 Archer) a game-changer in comparison with NATO's missiles?
I have heard that when the Vympel R-73 air-to-air missile was introduced it was a game-changer.
I have also heard that after the collapse of the Soviet block it was tested by NATO (via re-united ...
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How can the concept of "intercept geometry" be explained in simple terms?
Can someone expand a bit for the layman with emphasis on Intercept geometry the following image depicting the envelope of a SA-2 missile against a moving Target.
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How does a Missile Lock Work?
When we say that a missile has been locked on a target (lets assume a fast moving target, and that the missile is mounted on a fast moving plane), we assume that once the missile has been locked onto ...
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Is it possible for a fighter jet to shoot itself down with an IR missile?
In this answer, it's mentioned that
However, IR missiles (AIM-9 Sidewinder, AA-11 Archer, MICA IR, ASRAAM) do not emit any EMR that indicates they're incoming; they use a passive FLIR sensor to ...
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How can a supersonic cruise missile be intercepted?
India fires missile into Pakistan after ‘technical malfunction’
The above news says that India accidentally fired a supersonic missile, most probably a BrahMos cruise missile, into Pakistan. The most ...
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