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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How do conventional missiles fly?
With the exception of cruise missiles, most missiles don't have any obvious lifting device.
If you watch a missile being fired, prior to its rocket firing it does exactly what you'd expect: ...
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Do missiles need anti-icing?
Are anti-icing systems needed for any missile carried by a small combat jet? And if so, how is this achieved?
I realize of course that missiles typically fly at Mach 2.5+, so the compressive effects ...
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How are anti-aircraft missiles tested?
How are anti-aircraft missiles and counter-measures tested?
When they design an anti-aircraft missile, how do they test it so that it actually locks on to a target and destroys it? Do they simply fly ...
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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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What's this black rectangle painted on the side of a V-1 flying bomb?
A friend sent me a photo of the V-1 flying bomb on display at the Air Zoo in Kalamazoo. What's the black painted rectangle on the side of the fuselage?
The writing isn't much help... Nicht auftreten ...
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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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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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How are cruise missiles different from ballistic missiles?
Cruise missiles and ballistic missiles are used by many nations as offensive and defensive technology. How do cruise missiles and ballistic missiles maneuver, and what are the differences between the ...
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Can a missile be fired when a fighter jet is inverted?
Is there an attitude limit for firing a missile from a fighter jet? Can the pilots fire them when they're pulling Gs, or inverted?
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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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How do internally carried IR missiles acquire a lock?
On aircraft that carry their IR missiles on external stores, like the F/A-18, an IR-missile acquires a lock by having its seeker being directed to the target heat source by whatever means and the ...
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What is meant by "Fox Two"?
Numerous Movies, Video Games, and TV shows featuring fighter pilots depict the pilots calling out "Fox Two" on the radio as they fire a missile.
The transmission (as depicted, I'm not sure ...
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How can you stop your missile locking onto a friendly target?
In the modern day we have advanced planes, and advanced missile systems, however, how can you stop your missile firing at a friendly aircraft?
In planes like the F22 Raptor you can turn on sight lock,...
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How do missiles steer (mainly air to surface)?
How do missiles steer in the air? What techniques do they use?
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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 missiles typically have cylindrical fuselage and not a fuselage that generates more lift?
For example, Tomahawk Cruise Missile, or Harpoon anti-ship missile. They fly straight and level for the most part of their flight regime. I think if they had a fuselage optimised for level flight then ...
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Do fighter jets experience a reaction or recoil force upon firing a missile?
When fighter jets fire a missile, do they observe any kind of reaction force due to firing the missile? If yes, how is this observed by the pilot? If no, why not?
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Propulsion method for MANPADS missiles
What propulsion method is used for small short range handheld missile systems? Liquid fuel rocket engines are the gold standard but I suspect require too many components for the size requirements.
Is ...
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What is the ultraviolet signature, if any, of aircraft and jet engines?
The Wikipedia article on the FIM-92 B variant of the Stinger Missile says:
In this version, the infrared seeker head was replaced by a combined IR/UV seeker that utilized rosette scanning. This ...
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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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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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When were flares first used as IR countermeasures, and by whom?
I've been trying to find the history of flares (as countermeasures to heat-seeking missiles), but have not had much luck. Closest thing has been this wiki article which has but a single sentence in ...
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How did a Soviet SA-3 missile manage to shoot down the F-117 Nighthawk?
This question is about the F-117A that was shot down in 1999. How did an obsolete missile like the SA-3 shoot down such an advanced aircraft for its time? This question has nothing to do with how ...
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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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Can jet fighter missiles descend or ascend?
I am wondering that if missiles fired from jet fighters can ascend or descend?
Are they going to aim only horizontally?
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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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How do X-shaped control surfaces work?
I watched this video of the Raytheon SDB II and noticed that it seems to have no control surfaces on its wings, just the four fins on the tail. How do these fins work to alter the attitude of the SDB ...
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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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In missiles, what actuators are used for the control surfaces?
In a normal airplane, hydraulics or even cable-pulled systems are used to power the control surfaces. In a missile, that seems infeasible. What device is used to move the control surfaces, and where ...
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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?
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Why do X-wing configurations missile/guide bombs use symmetric airfoils?
From all the missiles/guide bombs I have come across, I've always observed that a symmetric airfoil is used for both the wing and tail.
Why not have a cambered airfoil for the wing and a symmetric ...
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What are the relative contributions of the body and wings to missile lift?
Slender bodies like arrow shafts, airliner fuselages, and submarine hulls are all capable of generating lift, albeit much less efficiently than a high aspect ratio wing. They also generate little drag,...
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Do different types of missiles indicate different lock tones to the pilot?
Are there different lock tones for different types of missiles, e.g. air-to-ground (AGM) or anti-ship (AShM)? If so, what information do the tones give the pilot? Are they a way for the pilot to know ...
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How are missiles attached/detached from a combat jet aircraft?
What is the mechanism holding a missile onto the hard-point of a wing, and how does it smoothly release the missile when it's ready to fire? What about the electric cables that also need to detach ...
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How is a cruise missile's range extended?
I see that some countries periodically test their cruise missiles, saying that they have increased the range. For example, Pakistan doubled the range of the Babur cruise missile and designated it as ...
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How do missiles navigate and determine their orientation without GPS?
When a missile is engaged in a GPS free tracking loop how is its internal orientation estimated with respect to ground?
I'm assuming this orientation is needed because the force of gravity will be ...
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What are the advantages of using a ramjet in an air-to-surface missile?
Which are the advantages of using a ramjet compared to a rocket engine in an air-to-surface missile? I suppose the cost rises a lot, so why do some countries use ramjets as a way of propelling ASM ...
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What is the time derivative of the angle of attack?
Suppose a flying missile's velocity vector has components $u, v, w$, as illustrated below.
From my knowledge of flight dynamics, the angle of attack is
$$\alpha = \arctan \left(\frac{w}{u}\right)$$
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Is an F-16 able to fire any of its weapons while on the ground? [duplicate]
I can recall at least one Hollywood movie, where this takes place (although not an F-16 in the movie).
Is this at all possible? Can the F-16 fire its M61 while taxiing on the ground? What about other ...
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How do rolling airframe missiles steer?
There are a certain type of missiles that roll constantly in flight, so-called rolling airframe missiles. Missiles found in the category range from various MANPADs, to the creatively named RIM-116 ...
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Do flares affect IR tracking devices?
If an IR device, such as a tracking FLIR system (not a heat-seeking missile), tracks an aircraft and that said aircraft would launch flares. Is the IR tracking device likely to be confused by the ...
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What is this missile extended beneath an F-104 Starfighter?
On a video posted on YouTube there is a short clip of some sort of rocket-powered device - presumably a missile - extended beneath an F-104 on a mechanical sling. It must have been lowered into ...
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What is the heat signature of a piston engine, relative to a jet engine?
I'm reading about the AIM-9 Sidewinder Missile again. I noticed this interesting photo:
Notice, that's a piston-engined aircraft, and a small one at that. So I'm asking myself, how did the missile ...
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Why are some Tomahawk missiles' nose duck-nose shaped?
Why there is a duck-like shape in this Tomahawk missile's nose? I see this shape in most Tomahawk images; however, not every Tomahawk's nose is shaped like this. If it is an aerodynamic feature, ...
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With similar weapons why does an AH64 Apache require a pilot and gunner when the A10 Warthog only needs a pilot?
The Apache has a 30mm chain gun. It carries Hellfire (anti armor), Stinger/Sidewinder (air to air) and Hydra (air to ground, APKWS guidance package available) missiles.
source
The Warthog has a ...
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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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How do cruise missiles stay aloft? [duplicate]
How do cruise missiles fly? Where does the lift come from? On pictures you can see that they have wings what are tiny compared to the body / payload. Do they generate enough lift? Or is the propulsion,...
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How does an AMRAAM communicate securely with the aircraft that launched it?
From Wikipedia:
It also incorporates a datalink to guide the missile to a point where
its active radar turns on and makes terminal intercept of the target.
An inertial reference unit and micro-...
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