What Tech Is Used For Building Ballistic Missiles?

Ballistic missiles are not just deadly weapons; they’re incredibly complex pieces of technology.

With a combination of propulsion, navigation, and payloads, they are able to travel thousands of kilometres to strike across enemy lines.

The recent Israel-Iran war, which kicked off just last week, has brought this technology back into the spotlight. During recent escalations, Israeli military data, reported on CNN, suggested that Iran has fired about 700 of its medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBM) at Israel over the past 14 months.

While many of these were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome, others have broken through, causing significant damage.

With long flight range and a potent load of explosives, ballistic missiles have become a central part of modern warfare.

But how do they work?

 

What Are Ballistic Missiles?

 

Ballistic missiles are missiles that are launched into the air using rocket engines that then coast unpowered to their target. Almost like how a ball is thrown through they air, they fly upwards and glide, before falling on their target.

Unlike cruise missiles, which are powered throughout their flight and easier to direct, ballistic missiles gather power by being thrown up into the atmosphere and then falling at a high velocity.

Ballistic missiles are categorised by their range. This includes:

• Tactical Ballistic Missiles (TBM): Under 300 km
• Short-Range Ballistic Missiles (SRBM): 300-1,000 km
• Medium-Range (MRBM): 1,000-3,500 km
• Intermediate-Range (IRBM): 3,500-5,500 km
• Intercontinental (ICBM): Over 5,500 km

 

Which Countries Have Ballistic Missiles?

 

A growing number of countries are buying up or building ballistic missiles. Whilst not all of them have long-range options, global superpowers like The US, Russia and China have missiles that include long-range systems.

According to Arms Control, the following countries have ballistic missiles as part of their national arsenal:

1. Afghanistan
2. Armenia
3. Bahrain
4. Belarus
5. China
6. Egypt
7. France
8. Georgia
9. Greece
10. India
11. Iran
12. Iraq
13. Israel
14. Kazakhstan
15. Libya
16. North Korea
17. Pakistan
18. Poland
19. Romania
20. Russia
21. Saudi Arabia
22. Slovakia
23. South Korea
24. Syria
25. Taiwan
26. Türkiye
27. Turkmenistan
28. Ukraine
29. United Arab Emirates
30. United Kingdom
31. United States
32. Vietnam
33. Yemen

 

What Tech Is Used For Ballistic Missiles?

 

Unfortunately, ballistic missiles are full of high-tech capabilities that make them desirable, but deadly.

Some of the tech behind them includes:

 

Propulsion Systems

Ballistic missiles use rocket engines to propel them into the sky. There are a few main types that they use:

Solid fuel rockets – Easy to store and quick to launch, these rockets are lit and burn quickly through their fuel, propelling them upwards fast.

Liquid fuel rockets – These need to be filled up just before they are launched. Because of this, the amount of fuel they use can be adjusted, but they tend to be harder to store as the fuel is toxic and unstable.

Hybrid systems – These use a bit of both so they combine the reliability of solid fuel with the flexibility of liquid fuel.

 

 

Navigation Tech

Most missiles, just like space rockets, shed weight as each they fly so that they maintain energy in flight.

Longer range missiles like ICBMs can shed 2 or 3 times during flight.

But once a missile is in the air, it needs to stay on track. Modern missiles have a few systems they use to ensure this, including:

Inertial Navigation Systems (INS): These use internal sensors to measure movement and direction. The missile is able to track how far it has travelled and in which direction, so it’s easier to understand where it might fall.

GPS and Satellite: Some missiles also use GPS systems to guide them towards a target. Whilst this is one way to make the launch more accurate, it can be vulnerable to being hacked or tricked, so it’s not always reliable.

Terminal guidance: Some missiles have systems that only kick in when they are close to landing. This allows them to be guided towards their target in the final moments so they are more likely to land where they are aimed.

 

Payloads and Warheads

At the end of its journey, a missile will drop its ‘payload’ – which is the explosive element that causes the damage.

Ballistic missiles usually contain one of the following:

Nuclear warheads: Highly destructive and intended for maximum damage.

Conventional explosives: Like big bombs, normally used to cause damage to buildings or military areas.

Biological or chemical payloads: Highly illegal, normally including toxins or living organisms that can cause disease and death in humans. Examples of this include viruses, bacteria and fungi.

Some missiles will be able to carry multiple warheads, these are called MIRVs (Multiple Independently targetable Reentry Vehicles).

These MIRVs allow one missile to split into multiple warheads, meaning they can all head to separate targets.

 

Flight Phases

A ballistic missile’s flight is divided into three main stages, kind of like how a space rocket launches:

Boost phase: The ‘lift-off’ stage, where a missile fires its engines and flies through the atmosphere towards its target.

Midcourse phase: After lift off, the engines stop and the missile coasts through the air (sometimes for up to 20 minutes).

Terminal phase: When the missile plunges back into the atmosphere and falls quickly towards the target.

 

Defence

To prevent being detected or intercepted, ballistic missiles may also use decoys or jamming systems to trick radars. Other missiles have Hypersonic Glide Vehicles (HGVs) which can move quickly and change direction unpredictably, making it harder for them to be shot down.

 

Why Are Ballistic Missiles So Hard To Defend Against?

 

The speed and trajectory that ballistic missiles fly at make them hard to intercept.

During the terminal phase, warheads may fly at such quick speeds that defence systems simply don’t have enough time to respond. If the missile also has HGVs and other decoys, intercepting them becomes even harder.

Even systems like Israel’s Iron Dome can be overwhelmed if too many missiles are fired towards it at the same time, which make ballistic missiles a popular, but deadly choice in war.

 

Ballistic Missiles

 

As with many areas, the technology behind ballistic missiles continues to evolve. Over time, they are becoming quicker, more precise and difficult to intercept.

As geopolitical tensions around the world continue to rise, the use of these weapons is sadly becoming more popular and the technology behind them is playing an ever-central role.