A cruise missile was described as a weapon that flies an essentially horizontal cruise flight profile automatically over the length of its flight from the launch to the terminal to the impact.
Cruise missiles have been increasingly popular globally over the last decade. Cruise missiles are a standard counter-force weapon with high acceleration and precise, stealth capabilities and many launch platforms; an antithesis to the mutual weakness that is critical for sustaining nuclear deterrence.
Unlike any other weapon, however, they cannot be easily categorized as either first strike attack weapon or second-strike defensive weapon.
All these things make it imperative to research the effects on the strategic stability of the cruise missiles in the world.
Moving forward, the cruise missiles intended to strike stationary or moving land targets-
- A cruise missile was the first cruise missile to be used in combat, the V1.
- It was controlled by primitive mechanisms that greatly decreased its accuracy.
- Modern land-assault missiles can reliably take out a building by entering through the window or hitting a single vehicle in a convoy.
This is the progress which has been made over the years.
Nearly all of these missiles cost more than $1 million apiece. Yet their accuracy and range made them the chosen alternative to strike heavily defended objectives rather than manned combat aircraft. Recently several countries in Europe and Asia have received long-range land-attack cruise missiles that can be launched from several platforms.
Below are world’s top 10 cruise missiles:
- Joint air-to-surface standoff Missile-ER (JASSM-ER)-926 km: The world’s top air-to-surface missiles, the joint missile extended range (JASSM-ER) air-to-surface standoff is 926 km maximum range.
- LRASM-555 km: A long-range LRASM is being built into the world’s top air-to-surface rockets with F / A-18E / F Super Hornet aircraft.
- KEPD Taurus 350-500 km: The top air-to-surface missiles in the world, the TAURUS KEPD 350 missile will strike targets within a maximum range of 500 km.
- BrahMos Air Missile Launched-300 km: The world’s top air-to-surface missiles, a BrahMos air-fired missile is fired by a fighter plane Sukhoi-30MKI.
- RBS-15-300km: The top air-to-surface missiles in the world is the RBS-15 Gungnir can reach targets within a maximum range of 300 km. The Gungnir RBS-15 is a long-distance rocket developed by Saab from air to surface.
- Kh-59MK2 – Km 285: The world’s largest air-to-surface missiles The Kh-59MK2 air-to-surface extended-range missile carries a warhead that penetrates 320 kg.
- Kh-35UE- 260km: For a range of 260kilometers and the world’s leading air to surface missiles the Kh-35UE air-to-surface and anti-ship missile.
- Storm Shadow/SCALP-250 km: The top air-to-surface missile of the UK Royal Air Force is a GR4 tornado that contains two storm shadow missiles under the fuselage.
- Stand-Off Missile (SOM)-250 km: The world’s top air-surface missiles are available in the SOM-A, SOM-B1, and SOM-B2 models of the standoff missile (SOM) Family.
- Kh-58UShKE – 245km: The Kh-58UShKE anti-radiation missile is the world’s strongest air to surface missiles, with a maximum range of 245 km.
