This month's AE presenter: David
Date of presentation: 19-Nov-2018
Subject: Cruise Missiles
Description: David presented a brief history of cruise missiles. Cruise missiles have
had a major impact on our world today as they have often been the first
weapon used in modern conflicts. A cruise missile is a unmanned
aircraft,
similar to a drone, except that it is typically meant to hit its target
and not return (with some exceptions). Cruise missiles differ from
ballistic missiles, which have a boost phase and fall back to the target
by gravity.
Cruise missiles were first conceptualized
in WWI with the modification of Navy Curtis N-9 biplanes to fly into
ships. The Army also developed the Kettering Bug, another pilotless
biplane, to attack land targets. These weapons were too late for WWI,
but the V1 Buzz Bomb was used extensively in WWII
and widely regarded as the first effective cruise missile. Ground and
Air launched cruise missiles culminated with the BGM-109 Tomahawk and
AGM-86 ALCM missiles used today.
