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Season Four Research Files
Episode Twenty-one
3:00am - 4:00am
A cruise missile is an unmanned, guided missile which uses a jet engine or rocket-propulsion system to allow sustained flight. They are generally designed to carry a large conventional or nuclear warhead many hundreds of miles with excellent accuracy. They have a shorter range and smaller payload than intercontinental ballistic missiles, but they are harder for an enemy to detect or intercept on radar because they fly at a low altitude. Cruise missiles may be launched from mobile launchers on the ground, from naval ships, or from aircraft. They are self-navigating and can be supplemented with GPS.
Cruise missiles were first developed by Nazi Germany during World War II.
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