Ballistic missile

A missile that spends much of its flight following a ballistic trajectory after powered ascent. Its path is shaped mainly by gravity and atmospheric drag once propulsion ends.

Rocket engine: An engine that produces thrust by expelling propellant, including in a vacuum. It supplies the thrust that accelerates the missile during powered ascent.
Intercontinental ballistic missile: A ballistic missile with a range generally exceeding 5,500 kilometers. This long-range class can reach targets across continents.
V-2 rocket: A German long-range ballistic missile used against Allied cities during World War II. It was the first operational long-range ballistic missile.
Cruise missile: A guided missile that sustains powered, aerodynamic flight through most of its route. It remains powered and flies aerodynamically rather than coasting along a ballistic arc.
Mutual assured destruction: A deterrence condition in which opposing nuclear powers can each inflict unacceptable destruction after an attack. Survivable ballistic missile forces make retaliation central to this deterrence logic.
Ballistic trajectory: A path followed by an object moving under gravity, with air resistance sometimes included. After burnout, the missile follows this kind of gravity-dominated path.
Submarine-launched ballistic missile: A ballistic missile launched from a submarine, usually while submerged. Submarine basing makes a portion of a nuclear force difficult to locate and destroy.
Wernher von Braun: A German-American rocket engineer who led development of the V-2 and later U.S. launch vehicles. He directed the engineering team that developed the V-2.
Hypersonic glide vehicle: A vehicle launched by a rocket that glides through the atmosphere at hypersonic speed. Its sustained atmospheric glide differs from a conventional ballistic missile's high arc and reentry.
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks: U.S.–Soviet negotiations and agreements in the 1970s that limited certain strategic weapons. Ballistic missiles and their launchers were major subjects of the negotiations.

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