Ever wonder how a cruise missile uses pre-stored maps to guide itself to a target?
It actually relies on a camera and a computer brain to scan the terrain as it flies, matching the landscape below to maps stored in its database.
But how do you even launch a 2,900-pound missile? Typically, they’re fired from U.S. destroyers using a Vertical Launch System.
The sequence kicks off with a booster engine, venting hot gases to protect the missile as it shoots upward. It then drops low, hugging the Earth's surface to stay completely off the radar.
And there's more—this missile is nuclear-capable.
Depending on the mission, the warhead can be swapped out with a proximity fuse, a cluster bomb loadout, or a delay fuse built exactly to bust open hardened bunkers."
Source: AiTelly
