Missile facts for kids

A missile is a powerful weapon that flies through the air to hit a target. Long ago, a missile could be anything thrown, like a javelin or darts. But today, when we say "missile," we usually mean a special kind of weapon that moves by itself and can be guided.

The Topol M missile at a parade rehearsal in Moscow.

Missiles are used in war to destroy military targets. They can carry explosive materials or other destructive items. What a missile carries is called its "payload." Sometimes, this payload isn't meant to harm people directly. For example, some missiles have carried "graphite bombs" to damage electrical power systems without causing a lot of other destruction.

How Missiles Work

Missiles are amazing machines that can travel long distances and hit specific targets. They use different ways to move and guide themselves.

Rocket Power

Most missiles use a rocket engine to push them through the air. This engine burns fuel very quickly, creating a lot of thrust. Once a missile is launched, it flies towards its target, sometimes at incredible speeds.

Guided Missiles

There are two main kinds of missiles: simple "rockets" and "guided missiles." A simple rocket cannot be controlled after it leaves the ground. It just follows a path set before launch.

A guided missile, however, can be controlled even after it's launched. This means someone can steer it or it can steer itself towards the target.

How Missiles Guide Themselves

Guided missiles use different technologies to find their targets:

• Heat Seeking: Some missiles, like the AIM-9 Sidewinder used in anti-aircraft warfare, guide themselves by sensing heat. They look for the heat coming from an enemy aircraft's engine.
• Radar: Other missiles use radar. They send out radio waves that bounce off the target, helping the missile know where to go.
• Radio Control: Some missiles are controlled by people using radio control signals from a distance.

Early Cruise Missiles

One of the first types of guided missiles was the V-1 flying bomb. This was an early "cruise missile." It was like a small airplane with a bomb inside, powered by a jet engine instead of a rocket. It was used during World War II.

Related Pages

• Intercontinental ballistic missile
• Scramjet
• V-2 rocket

Images for kids

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  A V2 launched from Test Stand VII in the summer of 1943

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  HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën (F802) firing a Harpoon

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  V-1 missile

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  Missile Maintainer inspects missile guidance system of the LGM-30G Minuteman ICBM

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  American Tomahawk cruise missile

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  Russian-Indian Supersonic cruise missile BrahMos

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  U.S. Army soldiers firing an FGM-148 Javelin

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  Arrow missile

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  A F-22 Raptor fires an AIM-120 AMRAAM