Cruise Missiles: Technology, Strategy and Politics

Cruise missile designs fundamentally derive from the German V-I of World War II. Advances in transistor and computer technology allowed self-correcting avionic and aeronautical designs that allowed missiles to be guided in flight, as opposed to only at launch. These advances developed into guided missiles and guided bombs and later into the modern cruise missile. Cruise missiles represent a way for Third World states to offset the technological superiority of the United States and exploit the weaknesses of extant U.S. Systems. The U.S. focus on building theater anti-ballistic missile systems such as the Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) program will only push nations such as North Korea and Iran, which have long sought to acquire long range means to threaten U.S. Interests, to look for an alternative to ballistic missiles. This book presents an overview of the current and future of Cruise Missiles and its Technology and Strategy.