Tactical ballistic missile should not be confused with Theatre ballistic missile.
A tactical ballistic missile (TBM), or battlefield range ballistic missile (BRBM), is a ballistic missile designed for short-range battlefield use. Typically, range is less than 300km (200miles). Tactical ballistic missiles are usually mobile to ensure survivability and quick deployment, as well as carrying a variety of warheads to target enemy facilities, assembly areas, artillery, and other targets behind the front lines. Warheads can include conventional high explosive, chemical, biological, or nuclear warheads. Typically tactical nuclear weapons are limited in their total yield compared to strategic nuclear weapons.
Tactical ballistic missiles fill the gap between conventional rocket artillery and longer-range short-range ballistic missiles. Tactical missiles can carry heavy payloads deep behind enemy lines in comparison to rockets or gun artillery, while having better mobility and less expense than the more strategic theatre missiles. Additionally, due to their mobility, tactical missiles are better suited to responding to developments on the battlefield.
For many nations, tactical missiles represent the upper limit of their land-based military equipment. They can provide a powerful weapon for a very economical price, and in some cases are sought to help level the playing field against opponents who are superior in other areas of military technology. Currently, tactical ballistic missile technology remains within reach for nations that may face difficulties in obtaining other advanced military technologies.
Ballistic missiles are still difficult to defeat on the battlefield. Newer air defense systems have improved ability to intercept tactical missiles, but still can not reliably protect assets against ballistic missile threats. This allows a moderate force of missiles to threaten a superior enemy by penetrating their air defenses better than with conventional aircraft, while providing a deeper strike than conventional artillery.
Early large rockets and missiles were propelled by liquid-propellant rocket engines, as the first types developed. These were replaced as soon as possible by solid fuel rocket motors. Liquid propellants involve cryogenic (liquid oxygen) or corrosive (nitric acid) oxidisers. These must be loaded before launch, delaying the rocket's time into action. This delay was a problem for large strategic missiles, but especially so for tactical.
Missiles, particularly in the Soviet Union, switched to using storable liquid propellants such as IRFNA, inhibited nitric acid. These were still hazardous to handle, but could be stored pre-loaded in the missile. This also allowed the development of single vehicle transporter erector launchers (TEL), rather than the previous convoy of carriers, launchers, fuel vehicles and service vehicles.
Western missiles adopted solid propellants instead, which were inherently storable, and later Warsaw Pact missiles followed suit. Tactical missiles are now almost universally solid-fuelled, except for some states using indigenous derivatives of the original Scud platform.
NATO reporting name | Propellant | Range | Introduction | Withdrawal | Origin | Operators | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Al-Samoud 2 | Liquid propelled | 180 km | 2001 | 2003 | |||||
Al-Hussein | Liquid propelled | 600–650 km | 1987 | 1991 | |||||
Blue Water | 1960 (first flight) | cancelled 1962 | |||||||
MGM-140 ATACMS | Solid propelled | 300 km | 1986 | 2007 (program terminated, missile remains in service) | |||||
MGM-52 Lance | Liquid propelled | 120 km | 1972 | 1992 | |||||
PGM-11 Redstone | Liquid propelled | 92.5 km-323 km | 1958 | 1964 | |||||
Precision Strike Missile | >500 km | 2023 | |||||||
MGM-18 Lacrosse | 19 km | 1959 | 1964 | ||||||
WS-1 | 60–180 km | ≈1990 | |||||||
WS-2 / WS-3 | 70–200 km | ≈2004 | |||||||
DTI-1 | 60–180 km | ||||||||
Hrim-2 | 280–500 km | ||||||||
Shaurya | two-stage solid propelled | 700-1900 km | 2011 | ||||||
Prahaar | Solid propelled | 150 km | 2011 | ||||||
Pragati | Solid propelled | 170 km | 2013 | ||||||
Pranash | Solid propelled | 200 km | TBD | ||||||
Pralay | Solid propelled | 150-500 km | TBD | ||||||
Solid propelled | 290–320 km | 2004 | |||||||
Nasr/Hatf IX | Solid propelled | 70 km | 2013 | ||||||
Abdali/Hatf-II | Solid propelled | 180 km | 2002 | ||||||
Hatf-I | Solid propelled | 70 km | 1990 | ||||||
Hatif-1A | Solid propelled | 100 km | 1990 | ||||||
Hatif-1B | Solid propelled | 100 km | 1990 | ||||||
Sky Spear | Solid propelled | 120–300 km | 2001 | ||||||
J-600T Yıldırım | Solid propelled | 150–900 km | 1998 | ||||||
TOROS | Solid propelled | 100–160 km | |||||||
Bora | Liquid propelled | 280–700 km | 2017 | ||||||
T-300 Kasırga | 100–120 km | ||||||||
SS-1b Scud-A | Liquid propelled | 180 km | 1958 | ||||||
FROG-2 | Solid propelled | 7–18 km | |||||||
SS-1c Scud-B SS-1d Scud-C SS-1e Scud-D | Liquid propelled | 300–700 km | 1964 | ||||||
SS-21 Scarab | Solid propelled | 70–185 km | 1975 | ||||||
SS-23 Spider | Solid propelled | 500 km | 1979 | 1987 | |||||
Frog-3, Frog-5 | 10–50 km | 1960 | 1982 | ||||||
Frog-7 | 70 km | 1964 | |||||||
400–800 km | 2005 | ||||||||
KN-02 Toksa | Solid propelled | 120–160 km | 2008 | ||||||
KN-23 | Solid propelled | 450 km[1] | 2018 | ||||||
KN-24 | Solid propelled | 410 km[2] | 2019 | ||||||
KN-25 | 380 km | 2019 | |||||||
SS-26 Stone | Solid propelled | 400–500 km | 2006 | ||||||
300–400km | 2016 | ||||||||
Solid propelled | 180 km | 1977 | |||||||
Solid propelled | 300 km | 2006 | |||||||
Solid propelled | 180 km | 2022 | |||||||
Solid propelled | 280–300 km | 2014? | |||||||
Burkan-1 | 800 km | 2016 | |||||||
al-Najm al-Thaqib-1 | 45 km | 2015 | |||||||
al-Najm al-Thaqib-2 | 75 km | 2015 | |||||||
Fajr-5 | Solid propelled | 180 km | 1990s | ||||||
Shahab-1 | 350 km | 1987 | ~2016 | ||||||
Shahab-2 | liquid propelled | 500 km | 1990 | 2016 | |||||
Fateh-110 | Solid propelled | 300 km | 2002 | ||||||
Fateh-313 | Solid propelled | 500 km | 2015 | ||||||
Qiam 1 | Liquid propelled | 800 km | 2010 | ||||||
Zelzal-1 | Solid propelled | 160 km | 1990 | ||||||
Zelzal-2 | Solid propelled | 210 km | 1998 | ||||||
Zelzal-3 | Solid propelled | 200–250 km | 2007 | ||||||
Naze'at 6-H | Solid propelled | 80–100 km | 1980's | ||||||
Naze'at 10-H | Solid propelled | 100–130 km | 1980's | ||||||
Jerina-1 | Solid propelled[3] | 285-300 km | 2017 | ||||||
Jerina-2 | 75 km | 2017 |