I’m sure you’ve seen missiles being used in most conflicts these days from Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, to the Israel-Palestine conflict and beyond. It also seems like most combat footage videos are showing some sort of missile being used. To an extent, this makes great sense. Missiles have become very cost effective when compared to the effectiveness of trying to push through foot soldiers or armour where great casualties can be expected.
This is what makes heat-seeking missiles even more desirable, but how do they work? The first and second (partly) generations of heat seeking missiles were actually fairly simple in nature. They were basically just pointed to the target, the missile launched and targeted that object which was the hottest thing it’s sensors could detect (hopefully) and then hit it. Generally, the object would be a plane for example, and the missile would detect it’s hot exhaust. The process of this was called “homing”.
The second and third generations of heat seeking missiles, such as the famous Stinger missiles), usually use UV sensors to stay on their target. This allows the missiles to not be deterred by things like flares which first generation heat seeking missiles are prone to. Finally, the latest heat seeking missiles are deploying IR imager technology and utilizing computer processing for guidance. These latest generations of missiles literally have to be equipped with infrared cameras which can detect and track targets from all angles. They can also maneuver more effectively so there is less chance they will get out run.
