Ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a missile that follows a ballistic flightpath with the objective of delivering one or more warhead s to a predetermined target . Shorter range ballistic missiles stay within the Earth ' s atmosphere , while longer range ones are designed to spend some of their flight time above the atmosphere and are thus considered sub - orbital . History . The first ballistic missile was the A - 4 , commonly known as the V - 2 rocket , developed by Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s under direction of T . J . Gertner and Wernher von Braun . The first successful launch of a V - 2 was on October 3 , 1942 , and began operation on September 6 , 1944 , against Paris , followed by an attack on London two days later . By the end of World War II , May 1945 , over 3 , 000 V - 2s had been launched . The R - 7 Semyorka was the first ICBM , while the SM - 65 Atlas was the first American ICBM . A total of 30 nations have deployed operational ballistic missiles . Development continues , with around 100 ballistic missile flight tests ( not including those of the US ) in 2007 , mostly by China , Iran and the Russian Federation . In 2010 the US and Russian governments signed a treaty to reduce their inventory of intercontinental ballistic missile s ( ICBMs ) over a seven - year period ( to 2017 ) to 1550 units each . Flight . A ballistic missile trajectory consists of three parts : the powered flight portion , the free - flight portion which constitutes most of the flight time , and the re - entry phase where the missile re - enters the Earth ' s atmosphere . Ballistic missiles can be launched from fixed sites or mobile launchers , including vehicles ( transporter erector launchers , TELs ) , aircraft , ships and submarines . The powered flight portion can last from a few tens of seconds to several minutes and can consist of multiple rocket stages . When in space and no more thrust is provided , the missile enters free - flight . In order to cover large distances , ballistic missiles are usually launched into a high sub - orbital spaceflight ; for intercontinental missiles the highest altitude ( apogee ) reached during free - flight is about 1200 km . The re - entry stage begins at an altitude where atmospheric drag plays a significant part in missile trajectory , and lasts until missile impact . Missile types . Ballistic missiles can vary widely in range and use , and are often divided into categories based on range . Various schemes are used by different countries to categorize the ranges of ballistic missiles : Short - and medium - range missiles are often collectively referred to as theater or tactical ballistic missiles ( TBMs ) . Long - and medium - range ballistic missiles are generally designed to deliver nuclear weapon s because their payload is too limited for conventional explosives to be cost - effective ( though the U . S . is evaluating the idea of a conventionally armed ICBM for near - instant global air strike capability despite the high costs ) . The flight phases are like those for ICBMs , except with no exoatmospheric phase for missiles with ranges less than about 350 km . Quasi ballistic missiles . A quasi ballistic missile ( also called a semi ballistic missile ) is a category of missile that has a low trajectory and / or is largely ballistic but can perform maneuvers in flight or make unexpected changes in direction and range . At a lower trajectory than a ballistic missile , a quasi ballistic missile can maintain higher speed , thus allowing its target less time to react to the attack , at the cost of reduced range . The Russian Iskander is a quasi ballistic missile . The Russian Iskander - M cruises at hypersonic speed of 2 , 100 – 2 , 600 m / s ( Mach 6 - 7 ) at a height of 50 km . The Iskander - M weighs 4 , 615 kg carries a warhead of 710 – 800 kg , has a range of 480 km and achieves a CEP of 5 – 7 meters . During flight it can maneuver at different altitudes and trajectories to evade anti - ballistic missiles . China & Iran have recently developed anti - ship ballistic missile ; Comparable systems Further reading . Bate , Mueller , White ( 1971 ) . " Fundamentals of Astrodynamics " . Dover Publications , New York . ISBN 0 - 486 - 60061 - 0