A cruise missile is a guided missile which uses a lifting wing and most often a jet propulsion system to allow sustained flight. Cruise missiles are, in essence, unmanned aircraft. They are generally designed to carry a large conventional or nuclear warhead many hundreds of miles with excellent accuracy. In 2001, modern cruise missiles normally travel at sub-sonic speeds, are self-navigating, and fly low in order to avoid radar detection.
Cruise missiles were first developed by Nazi Germany during World War II. The V-1 (introduced in 1944) was the first weapon to use the classic cruise missile layout of a bomb-like fuselage with short wings and a dorsally mounted engine, along with a simple inertial guidance system. The V-1 was propelled by a crude pulse-jet engine, the sound of which gave the V-1 its nickname of "buzzbomb". Japanese kamikaze aircraft could be viewed as manned cruise missiles. These early weapons are often referred to as flying bombs.
During the Cold War, both the United States and the Soviet Union experimented further with the concept, deploying early cruise missiles from submarines and aircraft. The Soviet Union was especially fond of large cruise missiles. The United States had a program to develop a nuclear-powered cruise missile, Project Pluto. Although the concept was proven sound, none were ever test-launched. While ballistic missiles were the weapons of choice for land targets, heavy nuclear and conventional tipped cruise missiles were seen by the USSR as a primary weapon to destroy US carrier battle groups. Large submarines (e.g. Echo and Oscar class) were developed to carry these weapons and shadow US battle groups at sea, and large bombers (e.g. Backfire, Bear, and Blackjack models) were equipped with the weapons.
(As of 2001) the Tomahawk missile (BGM-109) model has become a significant part of the US naval arsenal. It gives ships and submarines an extremely accurate, long-range, conventional land attack weapon. Each costs about $1,000,000 USD.
The United States Air Force deploys an air launched cruise missile, the AGM-86. It can be launched from bombers like the B-52 Stratofortress.
Both the Tomahawk and the AGM-86 were used extensively during Operation Desert Storm.
There was also a project by a New Zealander named Bruce Simpson to design and test fly a home-built cruise missile. It was funded by private investors, and it was planned to be built for under $5,000, which is remarkably cheaper than the approximate 1.9 million USD used to build the Tomahawk.
Nevertheless, the New Zealand government moved to shutdown project in late 2003 even though he was technically breaking no law.
The DIY Cruise Missile
See also missile, ballistic missile, ramjet, precision guided munition
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