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Glite Dictionary
MIRV

MIRV

1 9.9
A missile that carries several warheads and sends each to a different target
  • noun
  • /mɪrv/
  • Specialized
: MIRV
  • The military's latest strategy incorporates MIRV systems to enhance targeting capabilities against varied threats.
  • MIRV warhead

And I, you did a great job of explaining the MIRV D missiles.

Examples

  • MIRV warheads are designed to strike different locations simultaneously, increasing efficiency.

  • SALT I's limits on missile launchers were rendered more or less irrelevant by the development of multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) technology.

    Academic text (1991)

  • And I, you did a great job of explaining the MIRV D missiles.

    Danny Jones

  • I'm referring to the 1970s, when the US let the "MIRV genie" out of the bottle.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Experimental MIRV prototypes may have been fabricated and used in flight tests in 2011, he said.

    Blog text (11)

  • "An advanced development is the multiple independently targeted reentry vehicle (MIRV)," he said, for DF-5A and DF-31A ICBMs, and the JL-2.

    Blog text (11)

  • We'll assume, for the moment, that for some reason the Russian government decides not to inform the Israelis calmly that thirty minutes after either bomb goes off, a MIRV-tipped missile or two will return the favor to Tel Aviv with several hundred kilotons of interest.

    Blog text (9)

  • MIRV technology allows a single missile to deliver multiple warheads to independent targets.

Surface Forms

MIRV singular
MIRVs plural

Etymology

MIRV comes from four English words: Multiple, Independently, Reentry, and Vehicle. It literally names a 'vehicle' that 're-enters' the atmosphere and carries 'multiple' warheads that can be aimed 'independently', which is why a single MIRV can deliver several warheads to different targets.