A ballistic missile is a rocket-powered missile that is propelled only for the first part of its flight, then follows a curved, gravity-driven path to its target. It can carry conventional, chemical, biological, or nuclear payloads.

Quick Scoop

A simple way to think about it: a ballistic missile is launched like a rocket, but most of its trip is unpowered, like an object following a thrown arc. It is different from a cruise missile, which keeps flying under power for most or all of the journey.

Key points

  • It uses rocket propulsion during launch and early flight.
  • After that, it travels mostly by inertia and gravity.
  • Its path is called a ballistic trajectory.
  • It can be launched from land, ships, submarines, or aircraft.
  • Long-range versions, especially intercontinental ballistic missiles, are associated with nuclear delivery.

In plain English

If a cruise missile is more like a small powered airplane, a ballistic missile is more like a thrown object that arcs high through the sky and falls toward a target. That high-arc flight is what makes it “ballistic.”

TL;DR

A ballistic missile is a missile that gets an initial powered boost, then flies most of the rest of the way on a gravity-driven arc to its target.