Warhead
Section of a device that contains the explosive agent or toxic material
title: "Warhead" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["ammunition", "explosive-weapons", "missiles"] description: "Section of a device that contains the explosive agent or toxic material" topic_path: "general/ammunition" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warhead" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Section of a device that contains the explosive agent or toxic material ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/B-61_bomb_(DOE).jpg" caption="A [[B61 nuclear bomb]] in various stages of assembly; the nuclear warhead is the bullet-shaped silver canister in the middle-left of the photograph."] ::
A warhead is the section of a device that contains the explosive agent or toxic (biological, chemical, or nuclear) material that is delivered by a missile, rocket, torpedo, or bomb.
Classification
Types of warheads include:
- Explosive: An explosive charge is used to destroy the target and damage surrounding areas with a blast 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 enhance the blast effect by utilizing the surrounding atmosphere in their explosive reactions.
- 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 form 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 planar cutting effect that is devastating against military aircraft, which may be designed to be resistant to 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, the detonation wave is directed against a concave metal plate at the front of the warhead, propelling it at high velocity while simultaneously deforming it into a projectile.
- Nuclear: A runaway nuclear fission (fission bomb) or nuclear fusion (Thermonuclear weapon) reaction causes immense energy release.
- 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 enhance the blast effect by utilizing the surrounding atmosphere in their explosive reactions.
- 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.
Often, a biological or chemical warhead will use an explosive charge for rapid dispersal and enhanced damage.
Detonators
Explosive warheads contain detonators to trigger the explosion.
Types of detonators include:
::data[format=table]
| 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, sonar, 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 fragmentation primarily towards the target that triggered it. |
| Timed | Warhead is detonated after a specific amount of time. |
| Altitude | Warhead is detonated once it falls to a specified altitude, usually in an air burst. |
| Remote | Remotely detonated via signal from operator. (Not normally used for warheads except for self-destruction) |
| Combined | Any combination of the above. |
| :: |
References
- Stephen I. Schwartz. "Atomic Audit - The Costs and Consequences of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Since 1940". Brookings Institution Press, 1998.
- Chuck Hansen, U.S. Nuclear Weapons: The Secret History, (New York: Orion Books, 1988), pp. 162–164.
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