Make No Mistake, This is the Difference Between Ballistic Missiles and Cruise Missiles

JAKARTA – Some countries use cruise missiles and ballistic missile in its defense weapons. Both types of missiles apparently have several differences. The difference between ballistic missiles and cruise missiles according to the Federation of American Scientists lies in their trajectory and maneuvers.

According to the Sandboxx page, Friday (8/23/2024), ballistic missiles have a ballistic trajectory for most of their flight path. This means that after the missile burns the fuel that propels it, the missile continues to move, just like a bullet after being fired from a gun.

Once the fuel runs out, the missile’s course cannot be changed. It follows a path determined by its launch velocity and the force of gravity trying to pull it back to the Earth’s surface. Eventually, gravity guides the missile—and its payload, which may be explosives, a chemical or biological weapon, or a nuclear device—down toward its target.

For example, in 2017, North Korea test-launched a new ballistic missile, the Pukguksong-2. The launch occurred while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was on a state visit to the United States. Between May and October 2019, North Korea launched 12 ballistic missiles or other projectiles. However, all of them were merely test launches.

On January 7, 2020, Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two Iraqi military bases housing US troops in retaliation for a US drone strike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani on January 3, 2020. There were no casualties, and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif defended the missile attacks on US bases in Iraq, saying they were an act of self-defense.

For the layperson, these ballistic missile launches — both the constant test launches in North Korea and the deliberate attacks on US bases in Iraq — raise questions. Is there something about the ballistic portion that makes a missile more dangerous?

Ballistic missiles differ from cruise missiles in that cruise missiles are self-propelled for most of their time in the air, flying in a relatively straight line and at lower altitudes thanks to rocket propellant.

Think of the flight path of a ballistic missile as a big arc up and down again, whereas the trajectory of a cruise missile fired from a warship, for example — is closer to a straight line.

Ballistic missiles were first used during World War II, when Germany used a ballistic missile called the V-2 to attack London. British air defenses designed to stop planes were unable to stop the V-2, because the rocket flew too high into the upper atmosphere and was moving too fast.