Editing Ramjet (section)

===Take-off===
A ramjet generates no static thrust and needs a booster to achieve a forward velocity high enough for efficient operation of the intake system. The first ramjet-powered missiles used external boosters, usually solid-propellant rockets, either in tandem, where the booster is mounted immediately aft of the ramjet, e.g. [[Sea Dart missile|Sea Dart]], or wraparound where multiple boosters are attached around the outside of the ramjet, e.g. [[2K11 Krug]]. The choice of booster arrangement is usually driven by the size of the launch platform. A tandem booster increases the length of the system, whereas wraparound boosters increase the diameter. Wraparound boosters typically generate higher drag than a tandem arrangement.

Integrated boosters provide a more efficient packaging option, since the booster propellant is cast inside the otherwise empty combustor. This approach has been used on solid-fuel ramjets (SFRJ), for example [[2K12 Kub]], liquid, for example [[Air-Sol Moyenne Portée|ASMP]], and ducted rocket, for example [[MBDA Meteor|Meteor]], designs. Integrated designs are complicated by the different nozzle requirements of the boost and ramjet flight phases. Due to the booster's higher thrust levels, a differently shaped nozzle is required for optimum thrust compared to that required for the lower thrust ramjet sustainer. This is usually achieved via a separate nozzle, which is ejected after booster burnout. However, designs such as Meteor feature nozzleless boosters. This offers the advantages of elimination of the hazard to launch aircraft from the boost debris, simplicity, reliability, and reduced mass and cost,<ref>Procinsky, I.M., McHale, C.A., "Nozzleless Boosters for Integral-Rocket-Ramjet Missile Systems, Paper 80-1277, AIAA/SAE/ASME 16th Joint Propulsion Conference, 30 June to 2 July 1980.</ref> although this must be traded against the reduction in performance of a dedicated booster nozzle.