Ballistic missile
A projectile that assumes a free-falling trajectory after an internally guided, self-powered ascent [The American Heritage Dictionary, p. 137].
A ballistic missile is a rocket-propelled self-guided strategic weapons system that follows a ballistic trajectory to deliver a payload from its launch site to a predetermined target. Ballistic missiles can carry conventional high explosives and chemical, biological, or nuclear munitions. They can be launched from aircraft, ships, and submarines in addition to land-based silos and mobile platforms [Encyclopedia Britannica].
Strategic ballistic missiles can be divided into two general categories according to their basing mode: those launched from land and those launched at sea (from submarines beneath the surface). They also can be divided according to their range into intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs) and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). IRBMs have about 600 to 3,500 miles, while ICBMs have ranges exceeding 3,500 miles. Modern land-based strategic missiles are almost all of the ICBM range, whereas all but the most modern submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) have been of intermediate range [Encyclopedia Britannica].
American Heritage Publishing Company. (2011). The American Heritage Dictionary Of The English Language. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Ballistic missile. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/technology/ballistic-missile
Ballistic missile. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/technology/rocket-and-missile-system/Strategic-missiles#ref57333