A surface-to-surface missile (SSM) is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea and strike targets on land or at sea. They may be fired from hand-held or vehicle mounted devices, from fixed installations, or from a ship. They are often powered by a rocket engine or sometimes fired by an explosive charge, since the launching platform is typically stationary or moving slowly. They usually have fins and/or wings for lift and stability, although hyper-velocity or short-ranged missiles may use body lift or fly a ballistic trajectory. [1] The first operational surface-to-surface missile was the V-1 flying bomb, it was powered by a pulsejet engine.
Contemporary surface-to-surface missiles are usually guided. An unguided surface-to-surface missile is usually referred to as a rocket (for example, an RPG-7 or M72 LAW is an anti-tank rocket), whereas a BGM-71 TOW or AT-2 Swatter is an anti-tank guided missile.
Examples of surface-to-surface missile include the MGM-140 ATACMS [2] and the Scud family of missiles. [3]
There are a wide variety of surface-to-surface missiles, and they can be categorized by their intended usage, intended target (such as anti-ship), flight profile, and launch platform, with these categorizations often overlapping. They may be launched from fixed silos, road-mobile vehicle, railcar, or naval launch platforms.
A cruise missile is an unmanned self-propelled guided missile that sustains flight through aerodynamic lift for most of its flight path. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large payload over long distances with high precision. Modern cruise missiles are capable of traveling at high subsonic, supersonic, or hypersonic speeds, are self-navigating, and are able to fly on a non-ballistic, extremely low-altitude trajectory.
A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor.
A ballistic missile (BM) is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are powered only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) typically stay within the Earth's atmosphere, while most larger missiles travel outside the atmosphere. The type of ballistic missile with the greatest range is an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The largest ICBMs are capable of full orbital flight.
The MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System is a supersonic tactical ballistic missile designed and manufactured by the US defense company Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV), and later Lockheed Martin through acquisitions.
A multiple rocket launcher (MRL) or multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) is a type of rocket artillery system that contains multiple launchers which are fixed to a single platform, and shoots its rocket ordnance in a fashion similar to a volley gun. Rockets are self-propelled in flight and have different capabilities than conventional artillery shells, such as longer effective range, lower recoil, typically considerably higher payload than a similarly sized gun artillery platform, or even carrying multiple warheads.
A theatre ballistic missile (TBM) is any ballistic missile used against targets "in-theatre". Examples of this type of in-theatre missile are the Soviet RT-15, TR-1 Temp and American PGM-19 Jupiter missile, both from the 1960s.
The MGM-52 Lance was a mobile field artillery tactical surface-to-surface missile system used to provide both nuclear and conventional fire support to the United States Army. The missile's warhead was developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. It was replaced by MGM-140 ATACMS, which was initially intended to likewise have a nuclear capability during the Cold War.
The Nimrod is a long-range air-to-surface missile developed by Israel Aerospace Industries. While designed for mainly anti-tank warfare, it provides standoff strike ability against a variety of point targets such as armoured personnel carriers (APCs), ships, bunkers, personnel concentrations, and guerrillas.
The Korean People's Army Strategic Force, previously known as the Korean People's Army Strategic Rocket Force, is a military branch of the Korean People's Army (KPA) founded in 2012 that operates surface-to-surface missiles in the nuclear and conventional strike roles. It is mainly armed with ballistic missiles. The inventory includes domestic and Soviet designs.
The R-17 Elbrus, GRAU index 9K72 is a tactical ballistic missile, initially developed by the Soviet Union. It is also known by its NATO reporting name SS-1C Scud-B. It is one of several Soviet missiles to carry the reporting name Scud; the most prolifically launched of the series, with a production run estimated at 7,000 (1960–1987). Also designated R-300 during the 1970s, the R-17 was derived from the R-11 Zemlya. It has been operated by 32 countries and manufactured in four countries outside the Soviet Union. It is still in service with some. The North Koreans reverse-engineered it as the Hwasong-5.
A Scud missile is one of a series of tactical ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was exported widely to both Second and Third World countries. The term comes from the NATO reporting name attached to the missile by Western intelligence agencies. The Russian names for the missile are the R-11, and the R-17Elbrus. The name Scud has been widely used to refer to these missiles and the wide variety of derivative variants developed in other countries based on the Soviet design.
Prahaar ("Strike") is an Indian solid-fuel road-mobile tactical ballistic missile developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Prahaar is expected to replace the Prithvi-I short-range ballistic missile in Indian service.
A missile vehicle, also known as a missile carrier, missile truck, or missile launcher vehicle, is a military vehicle that is purpose-built and designed to carry missiles, either for safe transportation or for launching missiles in combat. Missile vehicles include transporter erector launchers (TEL) and multiple rocket launchers (MRL).
The Pukguksong-1, alternatively KN-11 in intelligence communities outside North Korea, is a North Korean, two-stage submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) that was successfully flight tested on 24 August 2016.
The Ure, often called KTSSM is a short-range tactical surface-to-surface missile (SSM) developed through the Lightning Project that began as a countermeasure against North Korea's conventional artillery raised in the wake of the Bombardment of Yeonpyong Island.
Atmaca (Accipiter) is an all weather, long range, precision strike, anti-ship cruise missile, developed by Turkish missile manufacturer Roketsan. The Atmaca enters service with the Turkish Navy to gradually replace the country's existing inventory of Harpoon missiles. The Surface-to-surface version of Atmaca is Kara Atmaca.
The Hwasong-11B is a North Korean single-stage, solid-fueled tactical ballistic missile.
The Precision Strike Missile is a short-range ballistic missile developed by the United States Army to replace the MGM-140 ATACMS. The US Army announced that the first PrSM batch was delivered in December 2023.