Intercontinental ballistic missile

ICBM is an acronym. It stands for Intercontinental Ballistic Missile.[1] It is a missile that can travel so far that it be used from one continent to another. The missile is primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery. The missile is guided, which means it can be controlled to hit a target, usually by an inertial guidance system. The missile carries a warhead, which is usually a nuclear weapon but it can also be a chemical or biological weapon. ICBMs can be launched from silos in the ground or underwater from submarines. Some can be launched from large ground vehicles.

A trident missile, launched from a submarine

References

Wragg, David W. (1973). A Dictionary of Aviation (first ed.). Osprey. p. 162. ISBN 9780850451634.

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[1] Wragg, David W. (1973). A Dictionary of Aviation (first ed.). Osprey. p. 162. ISBN 9780850451634.