A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor.
Anti-aircraft warfare is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action". It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (submarine-launched), and air-based weapon systems, in addition to associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements, and passive measures. It may be used to protect naval, ground, and air forces in any location. However, for most countries, the main effort has tended to be homeland defence. Missile defence is an extension of air defence, as are initiatives to adapt air defence to the task of intercepting any projectile in flight.
The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) is a guidance kit that converts unguided bombs, or "dumb bombs", into all-weather precision-guided munitions (PGMs). JDAM-equipped bombs are guided by an integrated inertial guidance system coupled to a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, giving them a published range of up to 15 nautical miles (28 km). JDAM-equipped bombs range from 500 to 2,000 pounds. The JDAM's guidance system was jointly developed by the United States Air Force and United States Navy, hence the "joint" in JDAM. When installed on a bomb, the JDAM kit is given a GBU identifier, superseding the Mark 80 or BLU nomenclature of the bomb to which it is attached.
A laser-guided bomb (LGB) is a guided bomb that uses semi-active laser guidance to strike a designated target with greater accuracy than an unguided bomb. First developed by the United States during the Vietnam War, laser-guided bombs quickly proved their value in precision strikes of difficult point targets. These weapons use on-board electronics to track targets that are designated by laser, typically in the infrared spectrum, and adjust their glide path to accurately strike the target. Since the weapon is tracking a light signature, not the object itself, the target must be illuminated from a separate source, either by ground forces, by a pod on the attacking aircraft, or by a separate support aircraft.
An airstrike, air strike, or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighter aircraft, attack aircraft, bombers, attack helicopters, and drones. The official definition includes all sorts of targets, including enemy air targets, but in popular usage the term is usually narrowed to a tactical (small-scale) attack on a ground or naval objective as opposed to a larger, more general attack such as carpet bombing. Weapons used in an airstrike can range from direct-fire aircraft-mounted cannons and machine guns, rockets and air-to-surface missiles, to various types of aerial bombs, glide bombs, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and even directed-energy weapons such as laser weapons.
Aerial warfare is the use of military aircraft and other flying machines in warfare. Aerial warfare includes bombers attacking enemy installations or a concentration of enemy troops or strategic targets; fighter aircraft battling for control of airspace; attack aircraft engaging in close air support against ground targets; naval aviation flying against sea and nearby land targets; gliders, helicopters and other aircraft to carry airborne forces such as paratroopers; aerial refueling tankers to extend operation time or range; and military transport aircraft to move cargo and personnel.
The Dassault Mirage 2000N is a variant of the Mirage 2000 designed for nuclear strike. It formed the core of the French air-based strategic nuclear deterrent. The Mirage 2000D is its conventional attack counterpart. Although it looks like a Mirage 2000 trainer, it was actually used as a fighter-attack aircraft.
The Texas Instruments BOLT-117, retrospectively redesignated as the GBU-1/B was the world's first laser-guided bomb (LGB). It consisted of a standard M117 750-pound (340 kg) bomb case with a KMU-342 laser guidance and control kit. This consisted of a gimballed laser seeker on the front of the bomb and tail and control fins to guide the bomb to the target. The latter used the bang-bang method of control where each control surface was either straight or fully deflected. This was inefficient aerodynamically, but reduced costs and minimized demands on the primitive onboard electronics.
A hardened aircraft shelter (HAS) or protective aircraft shelter (PAS) is a reinforced hangar to house and protect military aircraft from enemy attack. Cost considerations and building practicalities limit their use to fighter size aircraft.
A live fire exercise (LFX) is a military exercise in which live ammunition and ordnance is used, as opposed to blanks or dummies. The term can also be found in non-military usage.
The "SPICE" is an Israeli-developed, EO/GPS- guidance kit used for converting air-droppable unguided bombs into precision-guided bombs.
A guided bomb is a precision-guided munition designed to achieve a smaller circular error probable (CEP).
The Kh-25/Kh-25M is a family of Soviet lightweight air-to-ground missiles with a modular range of guidance systems and a range of 10 km. The anti-radiation variant (Kh-25MP) is known to NATO as the AS-12 'Kegler' and has a range up to 40 km. Designed by Zvezda-Strela, the Kh-25 is derived from the laser-guided version of the Kh-23 Grom. The Kh-25 remains in widespread use despite the apparent development of a successor, the Kh-38.
The Zuni 5-inch Folding-Fin Aircraft Rocket (FFAR), or simply Zuni, is a 5.0 in (127 mm) unguided rocket developed by the Hunter-Douglas Division of Bridgeport Brass Company and deployed by the United States Armed Forces, and the French Air Force. The rocket was developed for both air-to-air and air-to-ground operations. It can be used to carry various types of warheads, including chaff for countermeasures. It is usually fired from the LAU-10 rocket pod holding four rockets.
The AGR-20 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) is a design conversion of Hydra 70 unguided rockets with a laser guidance kit to turn them into precision-guided munitions (PGMs). APKWS is approximately one-third the cost and one-third the weight of the current inventory of laser-guided weapons, has a lower yield more suitable for avoiding collateral damage, and takes one quarter of the time for ordnance personnel to load and unload.
Lei Shi, abbreviated as LS, is a series of precision-guided munitions (PGM) developed by Luoyang Optoelectro Technology Development Center (LOTDC), a subsidiary of Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). Leishi is a type of guidance kit that can modify existing unguided bomb into guided standoff munition. These maneuverable guided bombs are similar in roles to the American Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) kit but with longer ranges.
A precision-guided munition (PGM), also called a smart weapon, smart munition, or smart bomb, is a guided munition intended to hit a specific target, to minimize collateral damage and increase lethality against intended targets. During the Persian Gulf War guided munitions accounted for only 9% of weapons fired, but accounted for 75% of all successful hits. Despite guided weapons generally being used on more difficult targets, they were still 35 times more likely to destroy their targets per weapon dropped.
In military terminology, a rocket is a self-propelled, unguided or guided, weapon-system powered by a rocket engine. Though used primarily as medium- and long-range artillery systems, historically rockets have also seen considerable use as air-to-surface weapons, some use as air-to-air weapons, and even as surface-to-air devices. Examples of modern surface-to-surface rocket systems include the Soviet BM-27 Uragan and the American M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System.
Martlet or the Lightweight Multirole Missile(LMM) is a lightweight air-to-surface, air-to-air, surface-to-air, and surface-to-surface missile developed by Thales Air Defence for the United Kingdom. It is named after a mythical bird from English heraldry that never roosts, the Martlet.
The High Speed Low Drag (HSLD) bomb is a family of new generation short range air-dropped precision-guided munition that is currently being developed by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). This general-purpose bomb is made for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and can be used against the destruction of strategic high value enemy infrastructure from stand-off distances. HSLD is comparable to Mark 80 series of bombs used by United States Air Force (USAF).
