| A ballistic missile (the BM in ICBM, IRBM, SRBM, ABM etc.) is a missile that is intended to travel to its target in a ballistic arc. It is powered only during the boost phase, early in its flight; once the rocket motors have burned out, it follows a trajectory to its target determined by gravity, local gravitational variation, air resistance and rotational pseudo-forces (from the Earth's rotation). |
