Warhead

Types of warheads include:

• Explosive: An explosive charge is used to disintegrate the target, and damage surrounding areas with a shock wave.
  • Conventional: Chemicals such as gunpowder and high explosives store significant energy within their molecular bonds. This energy can be released quickly by a trigger, such as an electric spark. Thermobaric weapons are something of a special case.
    • Blast: A strong shock wave is provided by the detonation of the explosive
    • Fragmentation: Metal fragments are projected at high velocity to cause damage or injury.
    • Continuous rod: Metal bars welded on their ends forming a compact cylinder of interconnected rods, which is violently expanded into a contiguous "zig-zag" shaped ring by an explosive detonation. The rapidly expanding ring produces a unique planar "guillotine" effect that is particularly devastating against military aircraft, which are designed to be resistant to traditional shrapnel.
    • Shaped charge: The effect of the explosive charge is focused onto a specially shaped metal liner to project a hypervelocity jet of metal, to perforate heavy armour.
      • Explosively formed penetrator: Instead of turning a thin metal liner into a focused jet of metal plasma, the shaped charge is directed against a concave metal plate at the front of the warhead, propelling it at super high-velocity while simultaneously deforming it into a dense ogive projectile
  • Nuclear: A runaway nuclear fission or nuclear fusion reaction causes immense energy release.
• Chemical: A toxic chemical, such as poison gas or nerve gas, is dispersed, which is designed to injure or kill human beings.
• Biological: An infectious agent, such as anthrax spores, is dispersed, which is designed to sicken or kill humans.
• Kinetic: Collides with the target at high speed. A detonation is not necessarily required.

Often, a biological or chemical warhead will use an explosive charge for rapid dispersal.

Detonators

Type	Definition
Contact	When the warhead makes physical contact with the target, the explosive is detonated. Sometimes combined with a delay, to detonate a specific amount of time after contact.
Proximity	Using radar, sound waves, a magnetic sensor, or a laser the warhead is detonated when the target is within a specified distance. It is often coupled with directional explosion control system that ensures that the explosion sends the fragmentationprimarily towards the target that triggered it.
Remote	remotely detonated via signal from operator (Not normally used for warheads except for self-destruction)
Timed	Warhead is detonated after a specific amount of time.
Altitude	Warhead is detonated once it falls to a specified altitude.
Combined	Any combination of the above.