Peacekeeper, a brave and able warrior, is

Transcription

1 Peacekeeper, a brave and able warrior, is retired Go! October 7, 2005 Peacekeeper ICBM, the most powerful American ICBM Let's start our exploration by describing the Peacekeeper ICBM, the most powerful ICBM in the US inventory. The Peacekeeper was designated LGM-118. It was and is also widely known as the "MX." It was a four-stage missile over 70 feet long and weighing nearly 200,000 pounds, or 100 tons. Here are two views of the missile system's stages. The first view shows the missile as a single unit, while the second view breaks the sections apart. Both graphics are presented by FAS.org: We honor service and sacrifice. Please click the "Donate" button and contribute $20 or more to help keep this station alive. Thanks. Table of Contents Introduction Peacekeeper ICBM, the most powerful American ICBM The Peacekeeper Operational Team F. E. Warren Air Force Base, its incredible legacy 1 of 15 6/3/10 2:14 PM

2 This is a complex system. We will try to show you photography, also presented by FAS.org, to help you grasp just how complex. First, each of the four stages has its own motor or rocket system. The 20th Air Force, bombers over Japan to hot missiles ready to go and a merger with domination of space WWII days Post WWII Stage 1 is 28 feet long, weighs about 108,000 lbs., and can boost the missile to 75,000 feet altitude. 2 of 15 6/3/10 2:14 PM

3 Stage 2 is 18 feet, weighs about 60,000 lbs., and can boost the missile to about 190,000 feet. Stage 3 is eight feet and boosts her to about 700,000 feet, or 132 miles altitude. Experts normally say that "outer space" starts at about 62 miles altitude. Stage 4 is called the post-boost stage. Itmaneuvers multiple (up to ten) reentry vehicles to the position where they will deploy in their respective ballistic trajectories and strike their intended targets. 3 of 15 6/3/10 2:14 PM

4 Those black cones you see forward are the re-entry vehicles (RVs) and each carries a nuclear warhead. The yellow-black shroud covering these RVs protects them during boost. The shroud has a top cap that contains a small motor to jettison it away from the RVs as they deploy. 4 of 15 6/3/10 2:14 PM

5 Each of the RVs is designed to strike a different target, each one with a nuclear warhead. In this photo, you can see eight of these going to their test targets, most likely at Kwajalein Island in the Pacific Ocean after a launch from California. Here's a different view, presented by classroom clipart. 5 of 15 6/3/10 2:14 PM

6 A time exposure of eight Peacekeeper (LGM-118A) intercontinental ballistic missile reentry vehicles passing through clouds while approaching an open-ocean impact zone during a flight test. Photo credit: U.S. Air Force 6 of 15 6/3/10 2:14 PM

7 The RV carried by Peacekeeper was the Mark 21, each one carrying a W-87, 300 kilo ton (Kt) nuclear warhead. The atomic bombs used against Japan in WWII were in the range of and Kt. In sum, the boost system had three rocket stages launching her into space and the fourth stage provided the velocity and altitude corrections for missile guidance to the target. All together, the system was boosted to about 700,000 feet before 7 of 15 6/3/10 2:14 PM

8 the fourth stage maneuvered the missile into position to deploy the multiple RVs in their respective ballistic trajectories to their targets. Range estimates vary from 6,000 to 6,800 miles. Range was reduced by the Mark 21 RV, more accurate than others, but heavier. Peacekeeper was the first US ICBM to use cold launch technology. The missile was placed inside a canister and loaded into a launch facility. High-pressure steam ejected the canister from the launch silo and the Peacekeeper missile to and altitude of feet when the first stage ignited and sent the missile on its way. This allowed the US Strategic Air Command (SAC) to use existing silos even though Peacekeeper was much larger than what those silos were designed to hold, mainly the Minuteman III. We believe that the above photo, presented by globalsecurity,org, was of a test of the canister system, possibly preparing for a deployment concept requiring a mobile platform, like a train, or a truck. You can see the canister is not in a silo. This next photo shows the missile being fired from a canister 8 of 15 6/3/10 2:14 PM

9 not in a silo as well, a good close-up. It is presented by Air University at Maxwell AFB, Alabama, The red arrow points to the top of the canister. Note all that "stuff" falling off the missile. These are Teflon-coated urethane pads that protect the missile while it is inside the canister. Nine rows of pads are used to protect and guide the missile smoothly up and out of the canister. The pads fall away when exiting the canister This next photo, also presented by the Air University at Maxwell AFB, Alabama, shows a launch from a silo at Vandenberg AFB, California, and you do not see the canister. The canister is inside the silo and remains there. You can see the steam forcing the missile out. 9 of 15 6/3/10 2:14 PM

10 Peacekeeper's history is laced with intense politics and questions about how to base it. Basing this missile was a highly studied and very controversial subject. One of the more important challenges was that the Soviets had substantially improved their ICBM accuracy. That, in turn, increased the vulnerability of US fixed ICBM launch sites. But it was the 1970s when this missile was emerging, deficits and interest rates were high, and the pressure to reduce spending was intense. One result was that there were myriad studies done postulating a wide variety of ideas on how best to base the MX. We'll just touch on a few. As mentioned earlier, the cold launch design for Peacekeeper enabled it to use existing fixed Minuteman III silos. This the option eventually chosen. 10 of 15 6/3/10 2:14 PM

11 Peacekeeper in a fixed silo. Presented by Peacekeeper (MX) ICBM Photo Gallery. Congress, and others, wanted a follow-on MX missile to employ a mobile basing system rather than fixed silos. 11 of 15 6/3/10 2:14 PM

12 An experimental MX missile transporter, carrying a mock MX Peacekeeper missile. Photo courtesy of National Nuclear Security Administration / Nevada Site Office SAC argued against this approach because it was so expensive, and would detract from its desire to employ advanced technologies to obtain maximum range and pinpoint accuracy. Thought was given to air-mobile launching, but Congress rejected that. President Carter approved a horizontal multiple protective shelter basing plan but President Reagan opined that would take too long and canceled it. He directed the missiles be deployed to existing silos and later opted for a Closely Spaced Basing plan. Congress rejected both ideas and called for another study. The USAF in March 1983 concluded it needed a new, highly accurate ICBM in sufficient numbers to demonstrate national resolve to the Soviets that the US would preserve its deterrent capability. It might be said here that the Sovits for a long time sought missile superiorit, while the US was more inclined toward missile suffciency, enough to get the job done. The next month, Lt. General Brent Scowcroft's Commission on Strategic Forces said the US needed to develop a small, single-warhead ICBM to meet the long-range threat, but recommended deployment of 100 Peacekeepers to existing silos at a time when the Titan II was being retired. As a result, in August 1983, the order was given to deploy of 15 6/3/10 2:14 PM

13 Peacekeepers to F.E. Warren AFB. Testing of the Peacekeeper in 1983 was successful, and production began in February Fifty Minuteman IIIs assigned to the 400th SMS were removed to make room for the Peacekeeper. Initial operational capability (IOC) was to be December A second batch of 50 were to go to the 319th SMS at the same base. IOC for these was planned for December But then, Congress, still uneasy about the basing plan, limited the deployment to 50 until it could be convinced of a more survivable basing plan. President Reagan, on December 19, 1986, then proposed a Peacekeeper Rail Garrison for the remaining of 15 6/3/10 2:14 PM

14 The railroad garrison concept, presented by LGM-118A Peacekeeper. On December 22, 1986 the 400th SMS achieved IOC with 10 Peacekeepers on full alert. Full operational capability (FOC) was achieved in December 1988 when the squadron received its 50th missile. The rail garrison concept was to take the second batch of 50 on 25 trains, each train carrying two missiles, which would deploy off base onto the national railway network during periods of tension. A group of air bases was selected. Then, a presidential decision was made in April 1989 to limit the Peacekeeper to the existing 50 missiles and directed they be redeployed from silos to a rail garrison. F.E. Warren would serve as the main operating base, and six other bases were selected. This plan did not reach fruition. The 50 missiles remained in silos at Warren. They were negotiated away under the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) II. Vehicles using RVs were eliminated on both sides. 14 of 15 6/3/10 2:14 PM

15 The Peacekeeper was deployed only to F.E. Warren AFB in Wyoming. Now let's turn to The Peacekeeper Operational Team 15 of 15 6/3/10 2:14 PM