// UNMANNED SYSTEMS AND NEXT-GEN WARFARE TERM
Cruise Missile
A cruise missile is a guided weapon that flies like a small, unmanned airplane, using a jet engine and wings to travel at low altitudes over long distances. Its low flight path helps it avoid radar detection before hitting a pre-programmed target with high accuracy.
TECHNICAL DEFINITION
A cruise missile is a self-propelled, guided weapon system that utilizes jet propulsion and aerodynamic lift to fly sustained, non-ballistic, low-altitude trajectories. These long-range standoff munitions are guided by systems like INS, GPS, and TERCOM to deliver conventional or nuclear warheads with high precision against land or sea targets.
BACKGROUND
The Babur is an all-weather, subsonic cruise missile developed by the National Defence Complex (NDC) based on reverse-engineered copies of U.S. BGM-109 Tomahawk missiles recovered by Pakistani intelligence after a 1998 U.S. strike in Afghanistan. Babur entered military service with the Pakistan Army in 2010; subsequent variants evolved into a submarine-launched missile, which saw its deployment with the Pakistan Navy in 2018.
READ MORE ON WIKIPEDIASYNONYMS & ALIASES
- standoff weapon
- LACM
- Tomahawk
- air-breathing missile
- ALCM
- SLCM
- GLCM
USAGE NOTE
This term is distinct from 'ballistic missile,' which follows a high, arching, largely unpowered trajectory after its initial boost.
DEVELOPERS
Organizations developing technology related to Cruise Missile.
A major U.S. defense contractor and manufacturer of the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM), a long-range, all-weather, subsonic cruise missile. They are also developing next-generation systems like the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM).
Develops and produces a range of standoff cruise missiles, including the AGM-158 JASSM (Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile) and its extended-range variant, JASSM-ER, as well as the derivative Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM).
A European multinational developer of missile systems, jointly owned by Airbus, BAE Systems, and Leonardo. Their products include the Storm Shadow / SCALP, a long-range air-launched cruise missile, and the Naval Cruise Missile (NCM).
Known for the AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile, a sea-skimming cruise missile. Boeing is also involved in the development of future hypersonic cruise missile technologies and modern standoff weapons.
A Norwegian company that produces the Naval Strike Missile (NSM), an anti-ship and land-attack cruise missile, and its air-launched variant, the Joint Strike Missile (JSM), used by platforms like the F-35.
A leading Russian state-owned weapons manufacturer that develops and produces a wide portfolio of air-launched and sea-launched cruise missiles, including the Kh-31, Kh-35, and the long-range Kh-101.
A joint venture between India's DRDO and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyeniya that manufactures the BrahMos, a family of supersonic cruise missiles that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or land.
A U.S. defense technology company involved in multiple aspects of cruise missile development, including advanced propulsion systems, guidance, and the development of weapons like the AARGM-ER and the Stand-in Attack Weapon (SiAW).