Editing Missile (section)

== History ==
{{See also|History of rockets and missiles}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1975-117-26, Marschflugkörper V1 vor Start.jpg|thumb|A [[V-1 flying bomb]], amongst the first guided missiles]]

[[Rocket (weapon)|Rockets]] were the precursor to modern missiles and the first rockets were used as propulsion systems for [[arrow]]s as early as the 10th century in [[Imperial China|China]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Crosby|first=Alfred W.|title=Throwing Fire: Projectile Technology Through History|year=2002|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0-5217-9158-8|pages=100–103}}</ref> Usage of rockets as weapons before modern rocketry is attested to in China, [[Korea]], [[Indian subcontinent|India]] and [[Europe]]. In the 18th century, [[Mysorean rockets|iron-cased rockets]] were used in India by the [[Kingdom of Mysore]] and [[Maratha Confederacy|Maratha Empire]] against the [[British East India Company|British]] which was developed into [[Congreve rocket]] and used in the [[Napoleonic Wars]].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Forbes|first1=James|last2=Rosée comtesse de Montalembert|first2=Eliza|title=Oriental Memoirs – A Narrative of Seventeen Years Residence in India, Part 68, Volume 1|date=1834|page=359|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r2IOAAAAQAAJ|access-date=26 April 2022|quote=The war rocket used by the Mahrattas which very often annoyed us, is composed of an iron tube eight or ten inches long and nearly two inches in diameter. This destructive weapon is sometimes fixed to a rod iron, sometimes to a straight two-edged sword, but most commonly to a strong bamboo cane four or five feet long with an iron spike projecting beyond the tube to this rod or staff, the tube filled with combustible materials}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/TRC/Rockets/history_of_rockets.html|title=Brief History of Rockets|access-date=1 December 2023|work=[[NASA]]}}</ref>

In the early 20th century, [[Americans|American]] [[Robert Goddard (scientist)|Robert Goddard]] and [[German people|German]] [[Hermann Oberth]] developed early rockets propelled by jet engines.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Topics of the Times|url=http://it.is.rice.edu/~rickr/goddard.editorial.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209230323/http://it.is.rice.edu/~rickr/goddard.editorial.html|archive-date=9 February 2008|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=13 January 2013|access-date=21 June 2007}}</ref> In the 1920s, [[Soviet Union]] developed solid fuel rockets at the [[Gas Dynamics Laboratory]].<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Zak|first1=Anatoly|title=Gas Dynamics Laboratory|url=http://www.russianspaceweb.com/gdl.html|website=Russian Space Web|access-date=29 May 2022}}</ref> Later, the first missiles to be used operationally were a series of rocket based [[List of World War II guided missiles of Germany|missiles]] developed by [[Nazi Germany]] during [[World War&nbsp;II]] including the [[V-1 flying bomb]] and [[V-2 rocket]] which used mechanical [[autopilot]] to keep the missile flying along a pre-chosen route.<ref name="VW">{{Cite web|title=The V Weapons|url=https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/world-war-two/world-war-two-in-western-europe/the-v-revenge-weapons/the-v-weapons/|work=History Learning Site}}</ref> Less well known were a series of [[Anti-ship missile|anti-ship]] and [[Surface-to-air missile|anti-aircraft]] missiles, typically based on a simple [[radio control]] ([[command guidance]]) system directed by the operator. However, these early systems in World War&nbsp;II were only built in small numbers.<ref name="VW"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/british-response-v1-and-v2/|title=British Response to V1 and V2|work=[[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]], [[Government of United Kingdom]]|access-date=1 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/missile-surface-surface-v-2-4|title=Missile, Surface-to-Surface, V-2 (A-4)|date=1 April 2016|work=[[National Air and Space Museum]]|access-date=1 June 2016}}</ref> After World War II, the advent of the [[Cold War]] and development of [[nuclear weapons]] necessitated faster, more accurate and more versatile missiles with longer range and missile development was pursued by multiple countries.

[[File:Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation.png|thumb|Signatories of the [[International Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation]].]]
=== Proliferation restrictions<span class="anchor" id="Proliferation"></span> ===
Various attempts have been made to control the spread of long range missiles capable of carrying [[weapons of mass destruction]], such as the [[Missile Technology Control Regime]] (1987) and the [[International Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation]] (2002). These were voluntary and not [[international treaties]]. Though not legally binding, more than 140 countries have been part of these agreements, and provide prior information on missile programs, expected launches, and tests.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2003-01/news/code-conduct-aims-stop-ballistic-missile-proliferation |title=Code of Conduct Aims to Stop Ballistic Missile Proliferation |last=Kerr |first=Paul |work=Arms Control Association |year=2003 |access-date=3 November 2024}}</ref><ref name="IISS">{{cite web |url=https://www.iiss.org/online-analysis/online-analysis/2021/08/hague-code-of-conduct/ |title=Appraising the Hague Code of Conduct |last1=Stefanovich |first1=Dmitry |last2=Wright |first2=Timothy |publisher=International Institute for Strategic Studies |date=3 August 2021 |access-date=3 November 2024}}</ref> The gradual introduction of missile launched [[hypersonic glide vehicles]] since 2019, [[anti-satellite missiles]], and the deployment of dual use missiles capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads are proliferation concerns.<ref name="IISS"/>