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Information about Warhead

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A B61 nuclear bomb in various stages of assembly; the nuclear warhead is the bullet-shaped silver canister in the middle-left of the photograph.


Typically, a warhead is the explosive material and detonator that is delivered by a missile, rocket, or torpedo.

Etymology

During the early development of naval torpedoes, they could be equipped with an inert payload that was intended for use during training, test firing and exercises. This was referred to as a peacehead. The explosive payload carried by weapons intended for use in combat became known as a warhead. The term peacehead subsequently fell into disuse.

Classification

Types of warheads include:
  • Explosive: An explosive charge is used to disintegrate the target, and damage surrounding areas with a shock wave.
  • Conventional: Chemicals such as gunpowder and high explosives store significant energy within their molecular bonds. This energy can be released quickly by a trigger, such as an electric spark. Thermobaric weapons are something of a special case.
  • Blast: A strong shock wave is provided by the detonation of the explosive
  • Fragmentation: Metal fragments are projected at high velocity to cause damage or injury.
  • Continuous rod: Metal bars connected on their ends forming a continuous narrow zig-zag ring after ignition - able to cut aerial structures.
  • Shaped charge or explosively formed penetrator: The effect of the explosive charge is focused onto a specially shaped metal liner to project a hypervelocity jet of metal, to perforate heavy armour.
  • Nuclear: See Nuclear weapon.
  • Chemical: A toxic chemical, such as poison gas or nerve gas, is dispersed, which is designed to injure or kill human beings.
  • Biological: An infectious agent, such as anthrax spores, is dispersed, which is designed to sicken or kill humans.
Often, a biological or chemical warhead will use an explosive charge for rapid dispersal.

Detonators

The types of detonators are:
  • Contact: When the warhead makes physical contact with the target, the explosive is detonated. Sometimes combined with a delay, to detonate a specific amount of time after contact.
  • Proximity: Using radar, sound waves, a magnetic sensor, or a laser the warhead is detonated when the target is within a specified distance. It is often coupled with directional explosion control system that ensures that the explosion sends the shrapnel primarily towards the target that triggered it.
  • Timed: Warhead is detonated after a specific amount of time.
  • Altitude: Warhead is detonated once it falls to a specified altitude. See air burst.
  • Combined: Any combination of the above.

See also

explosive material is a material that either is chemically or otherwise energetically unstable or produces a sudden expansion of the material usually accompanied by the production of heat and large changes in pressure (and typically also a flash and/or loud noise) upon initiation;
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detonator is a device used to trigger an explosive device.

Detonators can be chemically, mechanically, or electrically initiated, the latter two being the most common.

Explosive Ordnance Devices or EOD (hand grenades, naval mines etc.
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A missile (see also pronunciation differences) is a self-propelled, explosive projectile used as a weapon towards a target.

Etymology

The word missile comes from the Latin verb mittere, literally meaning "to send".
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rocket is a vehicle, missile or aircraft which obtains thrust by the reaction to the ejection of fast moving fluid from within a rocket engine.

The history of rockets goes back to at least the 13th century[1].
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The torpedo, historically called a locomotive torpedo, is a self-propelled explosive projectile weapon, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater toward a target, and designed to detonate on contact or in proximity to a target.
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The torpedo, historically called a locomotive torpedo, is a self-propelled explosive projectile weapon, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater toward a target, and designed to detonate on contact or in proximity to a target.
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shock wave (or simply "shock") is a type of propagating disturbance. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a medium (solid, liquid or gas), or, in special cases, through a field such as the electromagnetic field in the absence of a
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Gunpowder is a pyrotechnic composition, an explosive mixture of sulfur, charcoal and potassium nitrate that burns rapidly, producing volumes of hot gas which can be used as a propellant in firearms and fireworks.
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Thermobaric weapons distinguish themselves from conventional explosive weapons by using atmospheric oxygen, instead of carrying an oxidizer in their explosives. They are also called high-impulse thermobaric weapons (HITs), fuel-air explosives
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A continuous-rod warhead is a specialized munition used as part of an anti-aircraft missile.

Construction

Left: Rods arranged on mandrel prior to welding (single layer shown)
Center:

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shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Various types are used to cut and form metal, initiate nuclear weapons, and penetrate armour.
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An explosively formed penetrator (EFP), also known as an explosively formed projectile, a self-forging warhead, or a self-forging fragment, is a special type of shaped charge designed to penetrate armour effectively at stand-off distances.
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Armour or armor (see spelling differences) is protective clothing intended to defend its wearer from intentional harm in combat and military engagements, typically associated with soldiers.
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The reason for its protection is listed on the protection policy page. The page may still be edited but cannot be moved until unprotected.
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Chemical warfare is warfare (and associated military operations) using the toxic properties of chemical substances to kill, injure or incapacitate an enemy.
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Nerve Agents (also known as nerve gases, though these chemicals are liquid at room temperature) are a class of phosphorus-containing organic chemicals (organophosphates) that disrupt the mechanism by which nerves transfer messages to organs.
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Anthrax
Classification & external resources

Microphotograph of a Gram stain the bacterium Bacillus anthracis which causes anthrax.
ICD-10 A 22.
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Radar is a system that uses electromagnetic waves to identify the range, altitude, direction, or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as aircraft, ships, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain.
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laser is a mechanical device that produces coherent radiation. The term "laser" is an acronym: Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.
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Shrapnel is the term commonly used to describe the metal fragments and debris thrown out by any exploding object, be it a high explosive (HE) filled shell or a homemade bomb wrapped with nails or ball bearings.
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An air burst occurs whenever an explosive device such as an anti-personnel artillery shell or a nuclear weapon is detonated in the air instead of on contact with the ground or target or a delayed armor piercing explosion.
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A guidance system is a device or group of devices used to navigate a ship, aircraft, missile, rocket, satellite, or other craft. Typically, this refers to a system that navigates without direct or continuous human control.
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A missile (see also pronunciation differences) is a self-propelled, explosive projectile used as a weapon towards a target.

Etymology

The word missile comes from the Latin verb mittere, literally meaning "to send".
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Below is a list of (links to pages on) missiles, sorted alphabetically by name. See also the list of rockets and the list of missiles by nation.

Other lists

Types of missiles:
  • Conventional guided missiles

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This is an incomplete list of aircraft weapons, past and present.

Aircraft mounted guns

  • ADEN cannon (UK)
  • Becker (Germany)
  • Berezin B-20 (USSR)
  • Berezin BS/UB (USSR)
  • Breda-SAFAT machine gun (Italy)

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yield of a nuclear weapon is the amount of energy, called the yield, discharged when a nuclear weapon is detonated, expressed usually in the equivalent mass of trinitrotoluene (TNT), either in kilotons (thousands of tons of TNT) or megatons (millions of tons of TNT), but sometimes
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