this post was submitted on 02 Jan 2024
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Not all missiles are guided ones. Most are just fire-and-forget and usually just do a parabola before hitting their target.
Oh, I thought the whole thing about a missle being a missle is they can adjust trajectory.
Edit: Everything else being a rocket or a bomb or named something else.
It is a common misconception. The difference between rockets and missiles isn't guidance but propulsion.
Missiles are powered all the way to their target, and rockets are only part of the way.
That's why you never see a rocket trail before it hits, like in this video.
Both can be unguided or guided, either by using fins or gimballed nozzles.
I thought the main difference is that the rocket doesn’t know where it is or where it isn’t.
It is valid for most rockets as they are meant to be used as a powered artillery round.
A good example of a guided rocket is no other than space launch vehicles.
But I'm no rocket scientist (pun intended), I only wrote from my own memories of Googling on those subjects.
I think that was just a reference to this meme.
Good find, I wasn't aware of that meme.
On that linked page is probably the best version of the meme: The Missile Knows Where it is (Remix)
Ah, thanks for clearing that up!
In regards to your edit, it's not just rockets and dumb bombs. For example, ballistic missiles, which is why they're more vulnerable to interception as they follow a predictable ballistic trajectory.
Hypersonic missiles have technically existed since the middle 20th century. But in the modern context it refers to a technology that would allow for maneuver during hypersonic flight i.e. adjusting trajectory while at speeds exceeding Mach 5.
Might be unrelated to the overall thread but "dumb bomb" has to be my hate word of the century when it comes to military tech. Even bombs with no guidance system whatsoever can be deployed relatively precisely depending on the system used for launching them. Not to speak of glide kits etc. /end of mini rant
Why call it a dumb bomb tho? We already have a word for them - bombs.
I'd say it's not a dumb take, just a take
That's like saying we should just say fighter jets are planes. While it's true, it's not accurate enough to be informative in most scenarios.
Bombs include a lot of subvariants e.g. glide bombs, GPS guided bombs, etc.
Dumb bomb is a correct term, but if you prefer, a less colloquial version would be unguided bomb/ordinance.
Think about it, if a bomb is entirely reliant on its launching mechanism for targeting, and unable to adjust itself ones it's been deployed, it's dumb.
It's dumb because it's a quick and easy descriptor to easily differentiate it from the capabilities inherent to smart bombs, or guided munitions.