missile summary

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Below is the article summary. For the full article, see missile.

Components of an infrared-homing (“heat-seeking”) air-to-air missile.

missile, Rocket-propelled weapon designed to deliver an explosive warhead with great accuracy at high speed. Missiles vary from small tactical weapons effective out to only a few hundred feet to much larger strategic weapons with ranges of several thousand miles. They were not developed in any significant way until after World War II. Almost all contain some form of guidance and control mechanism and are therefore often called guided missiles. An unguided military missile, as well as any launch vehicle used to penetrate the upper atmosphere or place a satellite in space, is usually called a rocket. A propeller-driven underwater missile is called a torpedo, and a guided missile powered along a low, level flight path by an air-breathing jet engine is called a cruise missile. With the development of ICBMs, missiles became central to Cold War strategy. See also antiballistic missile, Minuteman missile, V-1 missile, V-2 missile.

BAE Systems Summary

BAE Systems, major British manufacturer of aircraft, missiles, avionics, and other aerospace and defense products. It was formed in 1999 from the merger of British Aerospace PLC (BAe) with Marconi Electronic Systems, formerly part of General Electric Company PLC. BAe, in turn, dates to the merger

Lockheed Martin Corporation Summary

Lockheed Martin Corporation, major American diversified company with core business concentrations in aerospace products—including aircraft, space launchers, satellites, and defense systems—and other advanced-technology systems and services. About half of the company’s annual sales are to the U.S.

Boeing Company Summary

Boeing Company, American aerospace company—the world’s largest—that is the foremost manufacturer of commercial jet transports. It is also a leading producer of military aircraft, helicopters, space vehicles, and missiles, a standing significantly enhanced with the company’s acquisition of the

Wernher von Braun Summary

Wernher von Braun was a German engineer who played a prominent role in all aspects of rocketry and space exploration, first in Germany and after World War II in the United States. Braun was born into a prosperous aristocratic family. His mother encouraged young Wernher’s curiosity by giving him a