What is an ICBM?

Intercontinental ballistic missile, usually refers to a long-range ballistic missile with a range of more than 8000 kilometers. It is an important component of strategic nuclear forces and an important condition for the two poles of the nuclear trinity. Mainly used to attack important military, political and economic targets on the territory of the enemy country. Intercontinental ballistic missiles have a longer range and faster speed than medium-range ballistic missiles, short-range ballistic missiles and newly-named theater ballistic missiles. At present, the main owners are: the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, and France. Another: India's intercontinental ballistic missile is also under development.

On May 30, 2017, the United States Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency announced that the U.S. military's first intercontinental ballistic missile interception test was successful. ^[1]

Chinese name: Intercontinental ballistic missile
Foreign name: intercontinental ballistic missile
Country of invention: Germany

Use: Long-range strategic strike platform
Ownership: Russia, United States, United Kingdom, France, China
Propellant classification: Solid fuel and liquid fuel
Category: Military weapon

Basic information on intercontinental ballistic missiles

In general, the range of intercontinental ballistic missiles should be at least 5500-8000 kilometers (the definitions vary among countries. At present, except for France, the intercontinental missile ranges of several nuclear powers are above 11,000 kilometers). Intercontinental Ballistics

Hercules Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Launch Missiles are generally (but not necessarily) equipped with a nuclear or thermonuclear warhead, and their typical composition is: liquid or solid propulsion devices, two or more stage booster rockets, inertial guidance systems (and can be equipped with constellation navigation, satellite navigation or terminal Guidance system), one or more load vehicles, each containing a warhead.

In the United States, intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and long-range bombers have roughly the same status, and together form a "Trinity" strategic deterrent force. In Russia, intercontinental ballistic missiles are the main body of strategic strike forces. Today, more and more countries already have long-range ballistic missiles, mainly the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China.

Intercontinental ballistic missiles have a longer range and faster speed than medium-range ballistic missiles, short-range ballistic missiles and newly-named theater ballistic missiles. However, it is always subjective and arbitrarily different to distinguish missile types by range, so there is no universally accepted definition to strictly distinguish the various types of missiles mentioned above. All definitions can only reach consensus within a certain academic community.

The first intercontinental ballistic missile successfully tested in the world was the Soviet Union's -7 (the Soviet nickname is , which means "Old Seven"), and the NATO codename was SS-6 "Baton." The missile was successfully tested on August 21, 1957 from the Baikonur space launch site in Kazakhstan, a republic, and flew 6,000 kilometers.

The world's top five killers: Militia III, Aspen-M, Yars-M, Dongfeng-31A, Dongfeng-41.

Evolution of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles

The design idea of the ICBM can be traced back to the 1930s and 1940s. Warner von Braun

Multi-warhead intercontinental ballistic missile The government proposes the A9 / 10 series. These ideas failed to materialize due to the defeat of Germany in World War II. The earliest medium-range ballistic missiles were the V2 rockets designed and manufactured by von Braun during World War II ("V" is taken from the initials of the German word Vergeltung, meaning "revenge"). The V2 is equipped with a liquid fuel engine and an inertial guidance system. It is launched from a mobile launch vehicle to avoid allied air strikes. After the end of World War II, von Braun and a large number of German scientists who served the Nazis were captured and later secretly transferred to the United States, joining a mid-range trajectory called Operation Paperclip initiated by the US military The missile research and development plan has developed "Redstone" and "Jupiter" medium-range ballistic missiles based on V2 design ideas. According to the provisions of the North Atlantic Convention, the United States can deploy these missiles in European countries that can cover the Soviet Union's Eastern European plains.

Both the United States and Russia (former Soviet Union) have developed intercontinental ballistic missiles since the Second World War. In August 1957, the first Soviet Union successfully test-fired the first SS-6 intercontinental ballistic missile, and the United States' first intercontinental ballistic missile, the Cosmic God, began to be equipped in 1959. Both countries have a number of pioneers in rocket development, notably the former Soviet Union's Ziolkovs and the US's Goddard. Intercontinental ballistic missiles have been developed for five generations.

The first intercontinental missile developed by the Soviet Union was the SS-6. It is 30 meters long, 4.5 meters in diameter, weighs 254 tons, and can carry hundreds of weights up to 4,100 kilograms.

China Intercontinental Ballistic Missile 10,000-ton nuclear bomb. However, the SS-6 missile is not a very good intercontinental ballistic missile because the missile is too large and the liquid fuel used is not easy to store, making the launch platform vulnerable to destruction. As a result, the SS-6 missile was quickly phased out and used as a Soviet space launch vehicle.

The first intercontinental ballistic missile of the United States was the "God of Space" missile. The second-generation long-range missiles developed by the former Soviet Union were the SS-7 and SS-8 intercontinental ballistic missiles. Since then, the Soviet Union has developed and deployed three types of third-generation intercontinental ballistic missiles, including SS-9, SS-11, and SS-13, which have solved many problems encountered in previous missiles. The United States has spent years developing second- and third-generation missiles and has introduced a variety of models. Before the "Universe God" series of missiles were completely retired, D-type, E-type and F-type were successively introduced. After the launch of the new solid-fuel missile series "Minuteman I" Types A and B, the "Minuteman II" type was launched. These missiles entered the service of land-based strategic missile forces and became the main missiles. The "North Star" A-3 and "Minuteman II" missiles are transitional types of the second-generation missiles to the third generation. The "Minuteman III" missile equipped with a guided reentry vehicle is the third-generation missile in the US strategic missile system.

The fourth generation of Soviet intercontinental missiles is equipped with a guided multiple warhead. For example, the SS-17 missile has 4 warheads, the SS-18 missile has more than 10 warheads, the SS-19 missile has 6 warheads, and the SS-20 medium-range ballistic missile. There are 3 warheads, so that an ICBM can attack multiple targets. The fourth-generation American intercontinental missile is characterized by its ability to strike missile silos and solid targets, such as the "Guardian of Peace" missile and the "Minuteman III" missile.

Russia has developed and deployed fifth-generation intercontinental ballistic missiles, such as the single warhead SS-25 highway mobile intercontinental ballistic missile; the "Poplar-M" intercontinental ballistic missile capable of breaking through interception systems and the RS-24 multi-warhead intercontinental ballistic missile. The United States has also developed the rail mobile "Peace Guard" intercontinental missile and another small road mobile missile system. With the further improvement of Russian missile hit accuracy and equivalent, the US intercontinental missile force may also increase the power of mobile ballistic missiles. ^[2]

On May 30, 2017, the United States Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency announced that the U.S. military's first intercontinental ballistic missile interception test was successful. ^[1]

On April 21, 2018, North Korea reported that North Korea decided to stop nuclear tests and intercontinental ballistic missile launch tests from April 21. ^[3]

Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Classification

Land-based intercontinental ballistic missile

In a certain sense, land-based missiles are truly "intercontinental", because land-based missiles can ignore the factors that affect the surrounding environment. This missile has the longest launch distance, the fastest response time, and the strongest self-protection capability.

Land-based missile silos. All land-based missiles require a silo. After the atomic bomb was invented, intercontinental ballistic missiles were able to launch nuclear bombs. Therefore, in order to have its own counterattack capability, the borehole wall of the land-based ICBM launch shaft is very thick and buried underground. Generally, after being attacked by a nuclear bomb, it can start automatically according to a preset procedure to carry out a nuclear counterattack. Therefore, land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles have a second strike capability.

All space launch pads are suitable for launching ICBMs, but ICBM silos may not be suitable for aerospace projects. As a war machine, the ICBM needs to launch the capsule in the shortest time and fly to the enemy's theater through high-speed gliding outside the atmosphere. Therefore, the launch vibration is large, and the smaller the volume, the better. The space launcher is mainly used for civil and scientific experiments and does not have the ability to protect itself.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army Second Artillery Corps deployed a number of Dongfeng 5 and Dongfeng 31 intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Sea-based intercontinental ballistic missile

Refers to the installation of missile bodies in submarines (usually nuclear submarines) for launch. Submarine-launched ballistic missiles are the real killer of a country. It has global arrival (nuclear submarines can cruise tens of thousands of nautical miles continuously and does not surface for several months), global strike (missiles generally have tens of thousands of kilometers of flight trajectory) and high concealment. The Soviet typhoon-class nuclear submarine is the world's largest nuclear submarine (a depth of more than 300 meters underwater) and a secondary strike capability. The most typical are the US Trident nuclear submarine and the Soviet Union's typhoon-class nuclear submarine.

However, submarine-launched missiles are generally affected by the submarine's own height, width, and load capacity. They are relatively short and short, and the missile's body must have a protective shell around it to carry huge water pressure. Therefore, the missile body is relatively small. When launching, the submarine usually launches the launching buoy out of the cabin. The shell floats up to a few meters from the water surface. The ignition procedure is started to protect the missiles in the shell from firing and rushing out of the water. The ballistic curve is adjusted by the geomagnetic and GPS antennas.

Trident II missile launched by a Royal Navy submarine. Four Vanguardclass SSBNs, each with 16 Trident II SLBMs.

The United States Navy has 14 Ohio class ballistic missile submarines, each equipped with 24 Trident II submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), for a total of 336.

The Russian Navy currently has 13 ballistic missile submarines in service, including 6 667BDR (NATO code-named Delta-class nuclear submarines, 6 667BDRM type (NATO code-named Delta IV), and 1 type 941 (NATO code-type typhoon-class nuclear submarine). 180 SLBMs. Each 667BDR is equipped with 16 R-29R SLBMs, each 667BDRM is equipped with 16 R-29RM SLBMs, and the 941 is used to test the R-30 Bulava SLBM (for The next generation of 955 Northwind God-class nuclear submarines).

The French Navy has four SSBNs, one of which is the older Redoutable class and the remaining three are of the newer Triomphant class. These submarines each carry 16 M45 SLBMs and are planned to be upgraded to M51 SLBMs around 2010.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy owns one or two Type 092 SSBNs, equipped with 12 single warheads Julang 1 SLBMs, and newly commissioned 094 submarine SSBNs, equipped with 12 JuLang 2 SLBMs (possibly equipped with sub-guiding type) Multiple warheads).

Vehicle-mounted intercontinental ballistic missile

The vehicle-mounted type has good maneuverability and concealment, and also has global strike capabilities, including two modes of transportation, car and train. However, due to the vehicle body's own size and load capacity, vehicle-mounted missiles usually have lower missile parameters than land-based vehicles. The most typical type of car launch is Russia's "Poplar" series missiles, the Poplar M (8-wheel launchers). The train type is Russia's SS-24 "scalpel" type and the US MX "Peace Guard" type.

Intercontinental ballistic missile component

From the perspective of the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles, its main constituent systems include the following core components:

Propulsion system

Only multi-stage propulsion devices can achieve effective intercontinental range. Therefore, intercontinental ballistic missiles generally use multi-stage propulsion devices. The propellers include liquid fuel thrusters and solid fuel thrusters.

Guidance system

Early intercontinental ballistic missiles used a combination of radio commands and inertial guidance. This approach was not satisfactory, especially since the radio command guidance system was vulnerable to external interference or damage. Both the US and the Soviet Union used full inertial guidance systems in their early missile programs to improve hit accuracy and reliability. Today, most intercontinental ballistic missiles use composite guidance methods, that is, inertial guidance, GPS guidance, and terrain matching guidance.

Rear booster

The rear booster vehicle is a carrier for a sub-reentry reentry vehicle on an intercontinental ballistic missile, also known as the parent cabin of the sub-reentry reentry vehicle. It can also be used to carry bait, jammers, and other penetrating devices. The rear booster aircraft can add a certain range to the re-entry vehicle before it is released to fly to the predetermined target along the unpowered trajectory.

Reentry vehicle

The container carrying the warhead to the intended target is the reentry vehicle. Intercontinental ballistic missiles can carry 10 or more reentry vehicles to strike widely distributed targets. Therefore, the greater the number of reentry vehicles, the more targets each missile can strike.

warhead

The warheads of intercontinental ballistic missiles are generally nuclear warheads. With the advent of intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear fusion warheads have been further developed, further miniaturizing the warheads, and facilitating the use of multiple warheads. The warhead is more resistant to the effects of nuclear radiation, and it is also structurally reinforced to withstand ground impacts, which has led to the development of earth-boring warheads for destroying particularly solid targets. But the warhead of a ballistic missile does not have to be a thermonuclear warhead, or even a nuclear warhead. As the accuracy of missile hits increases, ballistic missiles may also carry conventional ammunition that accurately guides and destroys surface targets.

Base setting method

In view of the technical conditions at the time and the urgent need for missile deployment, the early intercontinental ballistic missiles were all launched from ground launch platforms. Due to the poor accuracy of early intercontinental ballistic missiles and the slower speed at which bombers reached the same target, this setup could still meet people's needs at an early stage. However, with the improvement in the accuracy of ICBMs and the increase in the number of deployments, strengthening the security of ICBMs' installation bases has become the focus of attention of both sides. Underground silos are vulnerable, and land-based mobile, maritime mobile launch, and air-mobile intercontinental ballistic missiles have been developed.

Command and control system

Among existing strategic offensive weapon systems, ICBMs have the advantage that the highest command authority can control the authorized launch of ICBMs to ensure that missiles are not launched without authorization. The United States, the Soviet Union, France, the United Kingdom, and China have established strict command and control (C4I) systems for their respective ballistic missile forces.

Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Flight Phase

After the ICBM is launched, it can be divided into the following three flight phases:

Accelerating phase

Starting from the ignition of the rocket engine, the flight time varies from 3 to 5 minutes (the propulsion and acceleration phase of the solid fuel rocket is shorter than that of the liquid fuel rocket). At the end of this phase, the missile is generally at an altitude of 150 to 400 kilometers from the ground (depending on the selected trajectory trajectory). It varies with it), and the speed at which the fuel burns out is usually 7 km / s.

Halfway

At this stage, about 25 minutes, during which the intercontinental ballistic missile mainly performs a suborbital flight along the elliptical orbit outside the atmosphere. The apogee of the orbit is about 1200 kilometers from the ground. The semi-major axis of the elliptical orbit is 0.5 to 1 times the radius of the earth. , The projection of the flight orbit on the surface of the Earth is close to the great circle (the reason why it is "close" rather than "coincidence" is the offset caused by the rotation of the Earth itself during the flight). At this stage, multiple warheads are returned to the atmospheric vehicle or divided Intercontinental ballistic missiles with guided multiple warheads will release their carried bullets, as well as various electronic countermeasures such as metal balloons, aluminum foil jamming wires, and full-size decoy warheads to deceive enemy radars.

Reentry stage

Calculated from 100 kilometers above the ground, the flight time is about 2 minutes, and the speed when hitting the ground can reach 4 kilometers per second (early intercontinental ballistic missiles are less than 1 km / second).

Intercontinental ballistic missile strike accuracy

Strike accuracy is another issue of general concern. Doubling the strike accuracy means destroying the same target, and the weight of the warhead (explosion equivalent) can be reduced to 1/4 of the original. Strike accuracy is limited by the guidance system and real-time geophysical information available. Some analysts believe that most government-supported positioning, navigation, and mapping systems, such as GPS and Seasat (ocean observation satellites), have the ability to provide information such as gravity anomalies to intercontinental ballistic missiles to improve their strike accuracy.

In addition to being equipped with a space navigation system, modern strategic missiles are also equipped with dedicated high-speed integrated circuits, integrated navigation systems and data obtained from various sensors mounted on the missiles, which can solve missiles in real time at speeds of thousands to millions of times per second The differential equation of motion is used to return the results to the booster in order to correct the track deviation. The missile operation data is read according to the default schedule before launch.

Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Applicability

Intercontinental ballistic missile fuel

One of the limiting factors for missile suitability is what fuel is used in the rocket's propulsion section. Most boosters today use solid fuel, because solid fuel can be stored in the bomb for a longer time, has higher stability, and can be fired at any time. The earliest liquid fuel used was unstable and highly corrosive, so it could not be stored in the bomb for a long time. It needs to be injected into the rocket before launch, and the injection time is quite long. It is estimated that it takes at least two hours. . This not only greatly affects the reaction time of the missile, but may also cause the target to be exposed (the process of refueling the missile is easy to detect for modern space reconnaissance technology). In actual combat, it may have been enemy before it was launched. Army destroyed. Because the Soviet Union has always had technical difficulties in the development of high-thrust solid fuel rockets, it has made considerable achievements and progress in the research of liquid fuels. The liquid fuel used in the later Soviet Union was improved to be able to be stored in the bomb body for up to 7 years. This time is almost equal to the time when the missile itself needs to be taken out for overhaul. Therefore, it is considered to meet the requirements of high applicability in some requirements. However, based on other technical and performance requirements, in the end, the Soviet Union, like the United States, used solid fuel as the main source of propulsion.

Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Detection

Intercontinental ballistic missiles go through an acceleration phase after launch. At the end of this phase, the booster will be separated from the warhead (warhead), the warhead will enter a non-thrust sub-orbital flight phase, and fly along an elliptical orbit with the center of the earth as the focal point and intersecting the surface of the earth. In this stage, the missile flies out of the atmosphere, does not release any material to the outside world, and is generally unable to be detected by the enemy. The warhead's flight speed reached 7 km / s at this stage, making it difficult to intercept. Data show that many missiles will also release aluminized balloons, electronic noise generators and other interference equipment at this stage in preparation for penetrating enemy radars.

Intercontinental ballistic missile temperature

At the re-entry phase, friction between the warhead flying at high speed and the air will cause the temperature of the warhead to rise sharply. Therefore, the surface of the intercontinental missile's warhead must be provided with a thermal protection layer to protect the warhead from overheating. The protective layer of early intercontinental missiles was generally plywood with good thermal insulation properties. The specific strength (strength per unit mass of material) of this material is comparable to carbon fiber reinforced epoxy resin composite materials, and the coking speed is slower at high temperatures. The protective layer of modern intercontinental missiles is mostly pyrolytic graphite (also known as "directional graphite"), which is a new material with excellent thermal conductivity in one direction and almost no thermal conductivity in another direction orthogonal to it. Effectively protect the warhead from high temperature damage.

Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Missile Model

Intercontinental Ballistic Missile

Atlas (SM-65, CGM-16D / E, HGM-16F) Retired intercontinental ballistic missiles, launched from silos and used for other purposes.

Titan I (SM-68, HGM-25A) Retired intercontinental ballistic missile launched from a silo.

Titan II (SM-68B, LGM-25C) A retired intercontinental ballistic missile launched from a silo and now used for other purposes.

Minuteman I (LGM-30A / B) Retired intercontinental ballistic missile launched from a silo.

Minuteman II (LGM-30F) Retired intercontinental ballistic missile launched from a silo.

Minuteman III (LGM-30G) Launched from a silo; on June 28, 2004, there were 517 in the US standing arsenal.

Peacekeeper / MX (LGM-118A) Launched from a silo, the last one was retired in 2005.

Midgetman Launched by a heavy truck and never deployed.

Polaris (A1 / A2 / A3) (UGM-27A / B / C) retired submarine-launched ballistic missile.

Poseidon (C3) (UGM-73) Retired submarine-launched ballistic missile.

Trident (C4 / D5) (UGM-96A / UGM-133A) Submarine-launched ballistic missile, of which Trident I (C4) has been retired and Trident II (D5) began deployment in 1990. The planned service period will exceed 2020.

Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Russia

SS-6 Baton / R-7 / 8K71-Retired Intercontinental Ballistic Missile.

SS-7 Ango / R-16Retired intercontinental ballistic missile.

SS-8 Impala / R9-Retired intercontinental ballistic missile.

SS-9 Cliff-Retired Intercontinental Ballistic Missile.

SS-11 American Lily-retired intercontinental ballistic missile.

SS-17 GallopingRetired intercontinental ballistic missile.

R-36M (US code SS-18, NATO code name "Satan")-Intercontinental ballistic missile, launched from a silo.

UR-100N (SS-19, dagger)-Intercontinental ballistic missile, launched from a silo.

RT-23 Molodets (SS-24, scalpel)-Retired intercontinental ballistic missile, launched from a silo or railroad locomotive.

RT-2PM Aspen (SS-25, Sickle)-Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, launched by heavy truck.

RT-2UTTH Poplar-M (SS-27) Intercontinental ballistic missile, launched from a silo or heavy truck. RS-24 Yars (SS-29)-Intercontinental ballistic missile, launched from a silo or heavy carrier

Intercontinental Ballistic Missile China

China's intercontinental ballistic missile belongs to the "Dongfeng" series

Dongfeng 5 (NATO codename CSS-4)-Intercontinental ballistic missile, launched by a silo, with a range of 12,000 kilometers (now replaced by Dongfeng 5A, with a range of 13,000 kilometers). Dongfeng 31 (NATO codename CSS-9)-Intercontinental ballistic missile, launched by a silo or heavy truck, with a range of 8,000 kilometers (Dongfeng 31A has a range of 11,200 kilometers).

Dongfeng 41 (NATO codename CSS-X-10)-Intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of 14,000 kilometers.

Julang 2 (NATO codename CSS-NX-4)-Launched by 094 submarine with a range of 8,000-12,000 kilometers.

With the service of Dongfeng 31A and Julang 2 long-range strategic missiles, China's nuclear warheads are rapidly increasing. Moreover, a trinity nuclear strike capability has been initially formed. Around 2015, China's nuclear warhead exceeded the total of Britain and France. The change in strength began in 1995. Prior to that, the Second Artillery Corps was degraded to a "service-seeking service." Most of the soldiers at the Second Artillery Position even made their own way out of 'raising pigs' vegetables. This was mainly affected by the large-scale nuclear disarmament in the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United States and Russia.
After 1995, with the intensification of the situation across the Taiwan Straits, in order to effectively curb the intervention of US military forces, China began to re-emphasize the development of nuclear forces. At the same time, the transformation of the Second Artillery has officially begun, returning from the status of 'nuclear often' to both 'to' nuclear-based 'status. Technically, it has accelerated the development of nuclear vehicles, mainly long-range strategic missiles such as Dongfeng 31 and Julang 2, and temporarily produced a number of Dongfeng 5A to compensate for the nuclear strategic gap. Ballistic missiles and long-range ballistic missiles have been extended accordingly.
The long-range strategic missile brigade has been further increased with the deployment of intercontinental ballistic missiles, and at least two 094 and one 092M strategic nuclear submarines have been put into use. The US Department of Defense's 2007 China Military Power Report estimates that China will build at least five 094 ships. This was followed by the transformation of ballistic missile positions. It is reported that there are signs of expansion at the Delingha original Dongfeng 4 long-range ballistic missile position in Qinghai. Several hundreds of kilometers of straight lanes have been repaired and several pre-elevation positions have been clearly constructed. These signs indicate that China is very likely to begin to deploy more Dongfeng 31A highway mobile intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The strategic missile launch brigade found includes 801 and 804 brigades, and it is possible to deploy Dongfeng 5 and Dongfeng 5A intercontinental ballistic missiles. The 813 brigade is stationed in Nanyang, Henan, and it is generally considered to deploy Dongfeng 5. The 809 and 812 brigades are located in Qinghai and deploy the Dongfeng 4 long-range strategic missile. The 803 and 805 brigades deployed in Hunan are also said to be Dongfeng 4. It is very likely that some Dongfeng 4 missile brigades will begin to replace Dongfeng 31A. The positioning of Dongfeng 4 and Dongfeng 31A in the Second Artillery seems to be quite close, and they are both called 'long-range strategic missiles', while Dongfeng 5 is called 'intercontinental ballistic missile'. It can be seen that the range below 10,000 kilometers is called 'long-range strategic missile', and the range above 10,000 kilometers is 'intercontinental ballistic missile'. The so-called 818 brigade claims that the deployment of Dongfeng 31 has not been confirmed. In this sense, as the number of intercontinental ballistic missiles with a range of more than 10,000 kilometers is still insufficient, the reconstruction and extension of the Dongfeng 5 may continue. The increase in the number of nuclear warheads is, of course, based on the strategic goal of "to encourage nuclear powers not to dare to easily carry out nuclear blackmail against us." First of all, in terms of materials produced by warheads, mainland China is sufficient. Uranium is rich in resources, and uranium reserves have been produced for a considerable number of years. Western military observers believe that mainland China has already stocked enough nuclear material to produce 1,000 nuclear warheads. This is not difficult for China. Obviously, since the nuclear vehicles such as Dongfeng 31 and Julang 2 are new-type, they have been engaged in the development of multiple warheads for many years. Therefore, the warheads of Dongfeng 31 and Julang 2 will also be new, and even some Dongfeng 5A and Dongfeng 5 may become carriers of these new warheads. According to general Western intelligence analysis, China has at least mastered the separation technology of three warheads. In other words, Dongfeng 31 and Julang 2 series long-range strategic missiles carry at least three sub-missile heads.

Intercontinental ballistic missile representative model

Russian SS-25 Highway Mobile Intercontinental Ballistic Missile

The third-generation surface-to-surface intercontinental ballistic missile developed by the United States. The missile has more flexibility in target selection, high hit accuracy, and strong survivability and penetration ability.

The "Minuteman III" missile was developed in 1966 and equipped for the army in 1970. The first three stages use solid rocket engines, and the last boost stage uses liquid rocket engines. It has a length of 18.26 meters, a bomb diameter of 1.67 meters, a take-off weight of 35.4 tons, and a sub-guided multiple warhead with three warheads. Each bullet has a power of 175,000 tons of TNT equivalent, a range of 9800 to 13,000 kilometers, and a hit accuracy of 185 to 450 meters.

China Dongfeng-41 Intercontinental Ballistic Missile

Dongfeng Forty-one Intercontinental Missile is deployed in three ways: highway mobile platform, railway mobile platform and reinforced ground shaft launch.

Propellant: tertiary solid fuel

Range: 14,000 kilometers

Shell length: 17.5 meters

Spring diameter: 2.2 meters

Projectile weight: 20 tons

Warhead: a 1,200 kg 3 million-ton equivalent thermal nuclear warhead;

Or 6 200 kg 300,000-ton equivalent thermal nuclear warheads

Guidance: Three-axis liquid floating inertial gyro + digital space computer

Accuracy (CEP): 100-200 meters

Russian poplar-M intercontinental ballistic missile

The development of the "Poplar-M" missile system began in the late 1980s. It is an improved version of the "Poplar" (SS-25) missile

Although the size of the Poplar-M missile and certain design characteristics are obviously subject to the ABM Treaty: the maximum flight distance is 10,000 kilometers, the length is 22.7 meters, the maximum diameter of the shell is 1.86 meters, the weight is 47.1 tons, and the warhead weighs 1.2 tons ( 5.2 meters long), however, the Poplar-M missile has one of the biggest advantages: it can not only be converted into a multi-warhead missile in the shortest time, but its sub-warhead can also be guided independently.

Russian RS-24 Intercontinental Ballistic Missile

The 10 sub-warheads of the RS-24 may adopt new technologies such as anti-radar and anti-infrared detection such as absorption of heat and reflection or refraction, which increase the difficulty of tracking and identification of the anti-missile system of the opponent, and effectively improve the penetration of the missile warhead. ability.

The missile is equipped with an extended range propulsion system, which can achieve a range of more than 12,000 kilometers, which is far better than the "Poplar-M" 9,000 kilometers. This allows the RS-24 missile to be maneuvered into the Russian territory to be launched in depth to ensure that the opponent missiles The defense system achieves multiple warhead separation before interception, effectively breaks through, and can ensure that it accurately hits important US targets and destroys them.

US Trident II Intercontinental Ballistic Missile

The "Trident II" missile is an improved model developed on the basis of the "Trident I" C-4 missile, developed by Lockheed Martin. The bomb entered service in 1990 and was mainly equipped with "Ohio" -class nuclear submarines, each carrying 24 bombs.

Shell length: 13.42 meters

Spring diameter: 2.1 meters

Range: 11100 km

Launch weight: 59,000 kg

Throwing weight: 2722 kg

Launch method: three-section propulsion; solid fuel

Guidance System: Starlight Inertial Guidance

Warheads: 8 separate guided bullets with an equivalent of 100,000 tons of TNT or 475,000 tons of TNT

Hit accuracy: 90 meters

Intercontinental Ballistic Missile

The development of early intercontinental ballistic missiles provided a direct and solid foundation for human space exploration. Many well-known launch vehicles in the history of space technology, such as "Atlas" (United States), "Redstone" (United States), The "Hercules" series (Titan, United States), "Satellite" (Soviet Union), "Proton" (Soviet Union), and China's Long March series of carrier rockets were all transplanted from the early ICBM designs (these designs were eventually Not used in intercontinental missiles). With the advancement of technology, the strike accuracy of modern intercontinental ballistic missiles has been greatly improved. It is no longer necessary to carry a destructive warhead to destroy a predetermined target, so the size has been greatly reduced compared to earlier missiles, and the warhead is also lighter than before. The propellants were changed to solid fuels (which made them less capable than carrier rockets), but countries in the early stages of the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles generally still use liquid fuel rockets because their structure is simpler than solid fuel rockets. The deployment of intercontinental ballistic missiles in countries around the world (especially large countries) today generally follows the strategic idea of "mutual guarantee of destruction".

By the 1970s, the United States and the Soviet Union had developed anti-ballistic missile systems, which threatened the basis of the above-mentioned principle of "mutual assurance of destruction". To avoid an intensifying arms race, on May 26, 1972, the United States and the Soviet Union signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty to preserve the threat of existing intercontinental ballistic missiles and ensure a balance between the two sides in the cold war. However, this balance was threatened again after US President Ronald Reagan launched the Star Wars program in the 1980s to develop a new generation of "Guardians of Peace" and "Midgetman" intercontinental ballistic missiles. These actions led to subsequent negotiations on the START. ^[4]