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| target: NUCLEAR MISSILES |
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| ATK HAS BASES COVERED - BOTH LAND AND SEA |
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• In 2003, Alliant began a $71+ million multi-year contract to replace the propulsion systems on all Trident II D5 missiles. With Alliant's acquisition of Thiokol Propulsion from ALCOA in 2001, ATK became the sole supplier of all three rocket motor stages for this submarine based first strike nuclear missile. Alliant is a sub-contractor to Lockheed Martin's D5 rebuilding program.
Trident UPDATE: In November 2009, ATK announced they will continue to supply Trident solid-rocket propulsion systems to lead contractor Lockheed Martin Space Systems, through 2013, with a new $100 million contract extention.
• ATK Thiokol Propulsion is also in the process of replacing the first stage of the land based Minuteman III ICBM (second stage - Aerojet-General; third stage - United Technologies). Boeing is the prime contractor. (note: due to funding concerns, ATK has cut production to ONE first stage rocket motor.) |
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TRIDENT II D5
The Trident II is submarine based and the sixth generation of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) program. The first deployment of Trident II was in 1990. The D5 carries either a Mk5 or Mk4 thermonuclear warhead.
The Trident II D5 is a three-stage, solid propellant, inertially guided FBM with a range of more than 4,000 nautical miles (4,600 statute miles or 7,360 km). All three stages of the Trident II are made of lighter, stronger, stiffer graphite epoxy, whose integrated structure means considerable weight savings. The missile's range is increased by the aerospike, a telescoping outward extension that reduces frontal drag by about 50 percent.
Trident II is fired by the pressure of expanding gas in the launch tube. When the missile attains sufficient distance from the submarine, the first stage motor ignites, the aerospike extends and the boost stage begins. Within about two minutes, after the third stage motor kicks in, the missile is traveling in excess of 20,000 feet (6,096 meters) per second.
The ten Trident submarines in the Atlantic fleet were initially equipped with the D5 Trident II missile in 1990 and in 1996 the Navy started to backfit the eight submarines in the Pacific to carry the D5 missile. Each submarine carries 24 D5s.
Mk 5/Mk 4 NUCLEAR WARHEAD
The Trident II SLBM can be armed with up to 8 W88 warheads (Mark 5) or 8 W76 warheads (Mark 4). Each warhead is designed to strike a different target.
The W88 is a thermonuclear warhead, with an estimated yield of 475 kiloton (kt). The W76 warheaad has a yield of 100 kiloton.
NOTE: The atomic bomb that was detonated over Nagasaki, Japan, by the United States on August 9, 1945 had a yield of approximately 21 kiloton. A fully equipped Trident II D5 would carry 3,800 kiloton (eight W88s). |
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MINUTEMAN III
The LGM-30G Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is an element of the nation's strategic deterrent forces and a strategic weapon system. Missiles are dispersed in hardened silos to protect against attack and connected to an underground launch control center through a system of hardened cables. It carries a single Mk 12 warhead. Launch crews, consisting of two officers, perform around-the-clock alert in the launch control center.
An extensive life extension program is under way to keep the missiles safe, secure and reliable well into the 21st century. These major programs include: replacement of the aging guidance system, remanufacture of the solid-propellant rocket motors, replacement of standby power systems, repair of launch facilities, and installation of updated, survivable communications equipment, and new command and control consoles to enhance immediate communications.
The current Minuteman force consists of 500 Minuteman III's located at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, Malmstrom AFB, Montana, and Minot AFB, North Dakota.
Mk 12 NUCLEAR WARHEAD
The Mark 12 (W62) is an thermonuclear warhead designed in the late 1960s with a yield of 170 kiloton. |
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