MQR-13 BMTS

Last updated
MQR-13 BMTS
MQR-13 BMTS launch.jpg
Type Target drone
Place of originUnited States
Service history
In service1966–1968
Used by United States Army
Production history
Manufacturer U.S. Army Missile Command
Specifications (Configuration I, Version I)
Mass1,650 pounds (750 kg)
Length25.9 ft (7.89 m)
Diameter16.5 inches (420 mm)

Engine1st stage, Allegheny M5; 55,000 lbf (246 kN)
2nd stage, Thiokol TE 307; 4,700 lbf (21.1 kN)
Wingspan5.1 ft (1.54 m)
PropellantSolid fuel
Operational
range
202 mi (325 km)
Flight ceiling81 mi (130 km)
Maximum speed 6,000 feet per second (1,800 m/s)

The XMQR-13A Ballistic Missile Target System (BMTS) was an unguided target rocket developed by the United States Army during the 1960s, intended for use in the development of missile defense systems. Utilising off-the-shelf parts in four different configurations, the BMTS was utilised in a series of launches in the late 1960s supporting tests of several missile systems.

Contents

Design and development

Developed by the U.S. Army Missile Command (USAMICOM), the Ballistic Missile Target System, or BMTS, was intended as a ballistic target rocket, utilising as many parts from existing missiles as possible, to be used in the development and evaluation of defense systems against ballistic missile attack. [1]

Given the designation XMQR-13A in 1967, the BMTS could be launched in four different configurations. Configuration 1 used the booster from a Nike Ajax surface-to-air missile, with either an Apache (Version 1), Cajun (version 2), or inert Cajun (version 3) upper stage. Configuration 2 omitted the upper stage. All four variations fitted a radar enhancer in the nose cone to assist in target acquisition by the targeting missile. [1]

Operational history

The XMQR-13A was used in a series of test firings between 1966 and 1968, primarily from the White Sands Missile Range, [1] and using a modified Terrier portable launcher. [2] The test launches supported a variety of antimissile development programs, [3] including that of the HAWK, [4] and was intended for use in the development of SAM-D. [5]

The Nike-Apache and Nike-Cajun rocket configurations were also use extensively as sounding rockets for experimental missions conducted by NASA. [6] [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nike-Apache</span> Two-stage sounding rocket used by NASA

The Nike Apache, also known as Argo B-13, was a two-stage sounding rocket developed by Aerolab, later Atlantic Research, for use by the United States Air Force and NASA. It became the standard NASA sounding rocket and was launched over 600 times between 1961 and 1978.

Cajun Dart is the designation of an American sounding rocket. The Cajun Dart was used 87 times between 1964 and 1970. The Cajun rocket motor was developed from Deacon.

The Nike-Cajun was a two-stage sounding rocket built by combining a Nike base stage with a Cajun upper stage. The Nike-Cajun was known as a CAN for Cajun And Nike. The Cajun was developed from the Deacon rocket. It retained the external size, shape and configuration of the Deacon but had 36 percent greater impulse than the Deacon due to improved propellant. It was launched 714 times between 1956 and 1976 and was the most frequently used sounding rocket of the western world. The Nike Cajun had a launch weight of 698 kg (1538 lb), a payload of 23 kg (51 lb), a launch thrust of 246 kN (55,300 lbf) and a maximum altitude of 120 km (394,000 ft). It had a diameter of 42 cm and a length of 7.70 m. The maximum speed of the Nike-Cajun was 6,760 km/h (4,200 mph).

Ping-Pong was a battlefield reconnaissance rocket developed by Lockheed-California – later the Lockheed Missiles and Space Company – for use by the United States Army. Intended to give battlefield commanders the ability to gain photographic data on enemy locations, it reached the flight-test stage before being cancelled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MA-31</span> Target drone

The MA-31 was a conversion of the Kh-31, an anti-ship missile developed by the Soviet Union during the 1980s, for use as a target drone by the United States Navy. Although the missile proved successful in this role, political complications resulted in the type being only an interim solution, and only a small number of the missiles were acquired.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RGM-59 Taurus</span> Surface-to-surface missile

The RGM-59 Taurus was an American project, conducted by the United States Navy, that was intended to develop a surface-to-surface missile for use as a fire support weapon during amphibious landings, replacing heavy-caliber naval guns. Developed during the early 1960s, the project was cancelled before any hardware development was undertaken.

The ZBGM-75 Advanced Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, also known as Weapons System 120A (WS-120A), was a program to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), proposed by the United States Air Force in the 1960s as a replacement for the LGM-30 Minuteman as the Air Force's standard ICBM. Funding was not allocated for the program and the project was cancelled in 1967.

The Wagtail missile, also known as "Wag Tail", was a short-range nuclear missile developed in the late 1950s by Minneapolis-Honeywell under a contract awarded by the United States Air Force. Intended for use as an auxiliary weapon by bomber aircraft, the missile was successfully test fired in 1958, but the program was cancelled in the early 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AQM-127 SLAT</span> Target drone

The AQM-127 Supersonic Low-Altitude Target (SLAT) was a target drone developed during the 1980s by Martin Marietta for use by the United States Navy. Derived from Martin Marietta's work on the cancelled ASALM missile, SLAT proved to have severe difficulties in flight testing, and the project was cancelled during 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MQR-16 Gunrunner</span> Target drone

The MQR-16A Gunrunner was an unguided rocket developed by Atlantic Research during the 1960s. Designed with low cost as a priority, the MQR-16A was intended to act as a target drone for use in the development of man-portable surface-to-air missiles, and as a training target for the missile operators. Proving successful, the rocket served in the United States military until the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LOCAT</span> Target drone

The Low-Cost Aerial Target, or LOCAT, was designed as an inexpensive target rocket for use by the United States Army during the late 1960s. The missile was tested by the U.S. Army, but failed to win a production contract.

The RIM-113 Shipboard Intermediate Range Combat System, or SIRCS, was an advanced surface-to-air missile proposed by the United States Navy in the 1970s. The project failed to be approved for funding and was cancelled in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crow (missile)</span> Experimental missile

The Creative Research On Weapons or Crow program was an experimental missile project developed by the United States Navy's Naval Air Missile Test Center during the late 1950s. Intended to evaluate the solid-fueled integral rocket/ramjet (SFIRR) method of propulsion as well as solid-fueled ramjet engines, flight tests were conducted during the early 1960s with mixed success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terasca</span>

Terasca, or Terrier-ASROC-Cajun, was an American three-stage sounding rocket developed and launched by the United States Navy. Derived from a combination of the Terrier, ASROC and Cajun rockets, three launches were attempted during 1959, but only one was successful.

The Cajun was an American sounding rocket developed during the 1950s. It was extensively used for scientific experiments by NASA and the United States military between 1956 and 1976.

RIM-85 was a short-lived project by the United States Navy to develop a surface-to-air missile for the defense of naval vessels. Developed during the late 1960s, the project was cancelled before the start of detailed design work.

RIM-101 was a short-lived project by the United States Navy to develop a surface-to-air missile (SAM) for the defense of naval vessels. Developed during the early 1970s, the project, possibly derived from the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow, was cancelled before the start of detailed design work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AGR-14 ZAP</span> Air-to-surface rocket

The AGR-14 ZAP was an air-to-surface unguided rocket developed by the United States Navy in the late 1960s. Intended for use in the suppression of enemy air defenses role, the rocket reached the flight-testing stage before being cancelled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SAM-A-1 GAPA</span> Weapon

Boeing's Ground-to-Air Pilotless Aircraft (GAPA) was a short-range anti-aircraft missile (SAM) developed in the late 1940s by the US Army Air Force, and then the US Air Force after 1948. It was given the reference number SAM-A-1, the first Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) in the 1947 tri-service designation system. By 1950 over 100 test rockets had been launched using a variety of configurations and power plants, with one launch in 1949 setting the altitude record for a ramjet powered vehicle at 59,000 ft (18,000 m).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RM-86 Exos</span>

The Exos, originally designated RM-86 and later PWN-4, was a sounding rocket developed by the University of Michigan and NACA for use by the United States Air Force.

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Parsch 2002
  2. AIAA 1969, p.159.
  3. Goebel 2010
  4. DMS 1978, p. 50.
  5. United States Congress House Committee on Armed Services Hearings, 1968, p.9226.
  6. Parsch 2004
  7. Parsch 2002b

Bibliography

  • Goebel, Greg (2010). "Modern US Target Drones". Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. vectorsite.net. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
  • Parsch, Andreas (2002). "USAMICOM MQR-13 BMTS". Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles. designation-systems.net. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
  • Parsch, Andreas (2002b). "PWN-3". Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles. designation-systems.net. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
  • Parsch, Andreas (2004). "Nike-Apache". Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles. designation-systems.net. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
  • The Aerospace Year Book. Arlington, VA: Aerospace Industries Association of America. 1969. ASIN   B000E39S6K.
  • Code Name Handbook: Aerospace, Defense, Technology (Seventh ed.). Defense Marketing Services. 1978.