Editing Surface-to-surface missile (section)

{{Short description|Missile type}}

A '''surface-to-surface missile''' ('''SSM''') is a [[missile]] designed to be launched from the ground or the sea and strike targets on land or at sea. They may be fired from hand-held or vehicle mounted devices, from fixed installations, or from a ship. They are often powered by a [[rocket engine]] or sometimes fired by an explosive charge, since the launching platform is typically stationary or moving slowly. They usually have fins and/or wings for [[lift (force)|lift]] and stability, although hyper-velocity or short-ranged missiles may use body lift or fly a ballistic trajectory.<ref>{{cite book |title=A Dictionary of Aviation |first=David W. |last=Wragg |isbn=9780850451634 |edition=first |publisher=Osprey |year=1973 |page=254}}</ref> The first operational surface-to-surface missile was the [[V-1 flying bomb]], it was powered by a [[pulsejet engine]].

Contemporary surface-to-surface missiles are usually [[guided missile|guided]]. An unguided surface-to-surface missile is usually referred to as a [[rocket]] (for example, an [[RPG-7]] or [[M72 LAW]] is an [[anti-tank rocket]]), whereas a [[BGM-71 TOW]] or [[AT-2 Swatter]] is an [[anti-tank guided missile]].

Examples of surface-to-surface missile include the [[ATACMS|MGM-140 ATACMS]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/us-armys-new-ground-launched-missile-raining-down-death-500-17606|title=US Army's New Ground-Launched Missile: Raining Down Death from 500 Kilometers Away|first=Kris|last=Osborn|website=Nationalinterest.org|date=6 September 2016|access-date=30 August 2017}}</ref> and the [[Scud missile|Scud]] family of missiles.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SS-1 "Scud" |url=https://missilethreat.csis.org/missile/scud/ |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=Missile Threat |language=en-US}}</ref>