Crossword Genius

Small ballistic missile having a harsh sound (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

strident

'a harsh sound' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'small ballistic missile' is the wordplay.
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'ballistic missile' becomes 'trident' (I've seen this before).
's'+'trident'='STRIDENT'

'having' is the link.

(Other definitions for strident that I've seen before include "Loudly assertive" , "Harsh, grating" , "Tumultuous" , "Loud and vociferous" , "harsh noise" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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