How exactly does a missile find and lock onto a distant target for precision strikes?
First of all, let's talk about the basic way in which a missile locks onto a target. To put it simply, there are four main types of guidance:
It's like the missile comes with a separate set of navigation equipment. Once the missile is launched, it uses its own radar or infrared detectors to find and track the target. For example, a radar-guided missile is like carrying a small radar machine, constantly emitting electromagnetic waves and receiving echoes to find and lock onto targets; Infrared-guided missiles, on the other hand, can sense the heat emitted by the target, especially for aircraft or vehicles with obvious heat sources, and can clearly capture the target's position even in the dark.
In this way, the missile does not emit signals, but listens for signals from the target, such as radar waves, thermal radiation or radio signals, like a silent cheetah, quietly approaching the prey that makes a sound. The front end of the missile is usually equipped with a homing head, which can capture and track the target image in real time, such as infrared imaging, television imaging or laser irradiation. It's like having a pair of sharp eyes, always staring and following the target.
In this way, the missile is more like a kite, and the ground station or carrier aircraft continuously sends commands to adjust its flight trajectory until the missile reaches the preset area or hits the target directly.
Some of the more advanced missiles also use a combination of multiple guidance methods, which may rely on satellite navigation (such as GPS) for route correction in the early stage, and switch to homing mode or active and passive radar guidance in the later stage to ensure that the target can be efficiently locked and tracked at all stages.
In addition, due to their special flight trajectory, ballistic missiles often rely on inertial guidance systems to maintain stable flight in the early stage, and may combine terrain matching or other high-precision guidance technologies to achieve precision strikes in the terminal stage before and after re-entry.
In short, the process of locking on to the target is like a well-planned hunting operation, combining advanced sensors, computer technology and physical principles, so that the missile can "hit every shot" in a complex battlefield environment, no matter how cunning the target is.