Reply #55: Correct-a-mundo

[Sweet Pea]

Typical air-to-air or even surface-to-air missiles have either a blast-frag warhead or a continuous-rod warhead, both detonated by either a target detection device (TDD) that senses the target proximity and detonates the warhead nanoseconds before closest point of approach (CPA) or an impact sensor that senses g-force deceleration at impact. Both types of warheads send out fragments of titanium or steel (randomly for the blast-frag, tied together in titanium rods for the continuous rod) designed to impact or slice into the aircraft. Planes are fairly complex creatures with hydraulic lines, fuel tanks and lines, electrical systems, all very susceptible to any impact from external sources. All you really need is to hit an aircraft with a bit of metal at hyper- or super-sonic speed and it will generally take out an essential flight system, if not start a fire/explosion via fuel or hydraulic line rupture.

4th generation surface-to-air missiles, such as the PAC-3 (Patriot 3), however, takes into account the increased speed of theater ballistic missiles (TBM) and are designed as a kinetic-kill, or a skin-to-skin hit since target-detection devices would detonate the warhead too late to impact the high speed of a TBM.

"Vaporizing" an aircraft by a surface- or air-to-air missile is the stuff of Hollywood - I don't care how fast aluminum may burn at altitude.