Trident (missile)

Last updated

Trident
Trident C4 first launch.jpg
Trident I first launch on 18 January 1977 at Cape Canaveral
Production history
Manufacturer Lockheed Martin Space Systems
Specifications
Length13.41 m
Width2.11 m
Maximum speed Mach 19
Guidance
system
 Inertial guidance by stellar sighting

The Trident missile is a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) equipped with multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRV). Originally developed by Lockheed Missiles and Space Corporation, the missile is armed with thermonuclear warheads and is launched from nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs). Trident missiles are carried by twelve [1] United States Navy Ohio-class submarines, with American warheads, as well as four Royal Navy Vanguard-class submarines, with British warheads. The missile is named after the mythological trident of Neptune. [2]

Contents

Development

In 1971, the US Navy began studies of an advanced Undersea Long-range Missile System (ULMS). A Decision Coordinating Paper (DCP) for the ULMS was approved on 14 September 1971. ULMS program outlined a long-term modernization plan, which proposed the development of a longer-range missile termed ULMS II, which was to achieve twice the range of the existing Poseidon (ULMS I) missile. In addition to a longer-range missile, a larger submarine was proposed to replace the Lafayette, James Madison and Benjamin Franklin-class SSBNs in 1978. The ULMS II missile system was designed to be retrofitted to the existing SSBNs, while also being fitted to the proposed Ohio-class submarine.

In May 1972, the term ULMS II was replaced with Trident. The Trident was to be a larger, higher-performance missile with a range capacity greater than 6,000 miles (9,700 km). The first test of the Trident was on January 18, 1977 when an unarmed missile was launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida and traveled almost its full range of 4,600 miles (7,400 km), to a point in the South Atlantic Ocean near Ascension Island. [3]

Trident I (designated as C4) was deployed in 1979 and retired in 2005. [4] Its objective was to achieve performance similar to Poseidon (C3) but at extended range. Trident II (designated D5) had the objective of improved circular error probable (CEP), or accuracy, and was first deployed in 1990, and was planned to be in service for the thirty-year life of the submarines, until 2027.

Trident missiles are provided to the United Kingdom under the terms of the 1963 Polaris Sales Agreement which was modified in 1982 for Trident. [5] British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher wrote to President Carter on 10 July 1980, to request that he approve supply of Trident I missiles. However, in 1982 Thatcher wrote to President Reagan to request the United Kingdom be allowed to procure the Trident II system, the procurement of which had been accelerated by the US Navy. This was agreed upon in March 1982. [6] Under the agreement, the United Kingdom paid an additional 5% of their total procurement cost of $2.5 billion to the US government as a research and development contribution. [7]

The total cost of the Trident program thus far came to $39.546 billion in 2011, with a cost of $70 million per missile. [8]

In 2009, the United States upgraded the D5 missiles with an arming, fuzing and firing (AF&F) system called the "super-fuze" [9] [10] that allows them to target hardened silos and bunkers more accurately.

Description

The launching of a Trident I C-4 missile from the submerged USS Francis Scott Key and the re-entry vehicles plunging into the Atlantic Ocean, 1981 Trident I C-4 missiles.jpg
The launching of a Trident I C-4 missile from the submerged USS Francis Scott Key and the re-entry vehicles plunging into the Atlantic Ocean, 1981

The launch from the submarine occurs below the sea surface. The missiles are ejected from their tubes by igniting an explosive charge in a separate container. The energy from the blast is directed to a water tank, where the water is flash-vaporized to steam. The subsequent pressure spike is strong enough to eject the missile out of the tube and give it enough momentum to reach and clear the surface of the water. The missile is pressurized with nitrogen to prevent the intrusion of water into any internal spaces, which could damage the missile or add weight, destabilizing the missile. Should the missile fail to breach the surface of the water, there are several safety mechanisms that can either deactivate the missile before launch or guide the missile through an additional phase of launch. Inertial motion sensors are activated upon launch, and when the sensors detect downward acceleration after being blown out of the water, the first-stage motor ignites. The aerospike, a telescoping outward extension that halves aerodynamic drag, is then deployed, and the boost phase begins. When the third-stage motor fires, within two minutes of launch, the missile is traveling faster than 20,000 ft/s (6,000 m/s), or 13,600 mph (21,600 km/h) Mach 18. Minutes after launch, the missile is outside the atmosphere and on a sub-orbital trajectory.

The Guidance System for the missile was developed by the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory and is maintained by a joint Draper/General Dynamics Mission Systems facility. It is an Inertial Guidance System with an additional star-sighting system (this combination is known as astro-inertial guidance), which is used to correct small position and velocity errors that result from launch condition uncertainties due to errors in the submarine navigation system and errors that may have accumulated in the guidance system during the flight due to imperfect instrument calibration. GPS has been used on some test flights but is assumed not to be available for a real mission. The fire control system was designed and continues to be maintained by General Dynamics Mission Systems. Once the star-sighting has been completed, the "bus" section of the missile maneuvers to achieve the various velocity vectors that will send the deployed multiple independent reentry vehicles to their individual targets. The downrange and crossrange dispersion of the targets remains classified.

The Trident was built in two variants: the I (C4) UGM-96A and II (D5) UGM-133A; however, these two missiles have little in common. While the C4, formerly known as EXPO (Extended Range Poseidon), is just an improved version of the Poseidon C-3 missile, the Trident II D-5 has a completely new design (although with some technologies adopted from the C-4). The C4 and D5 designations put the missiles within the "family" that started in 1960 with Polaris (A1, A2 and A3) and continued with the 1971 Poseidon (C3). Both Trident versions are three-stage, solid-propellant, inertially guided missiles, and both guidance systems use a star sighting to improve overall weapons system accuracy.

Trident I (C4) UGM-96A

"Stop Trident I Testing Now" sign in 1987 protest at Cape Canaveral, Florida Protest against Trident II Missile, Cape Canaveral Florida, 1987 04.jpg
"Stop Trident I Testing Now" sign in 1987 protest at Cape Canaveral, Florida

The first eight Ohio-class submarines were built with the Trident I missiles.

Trident II (D5) UGM-133A

A Trident II missile fires its first stage after an underwater launch from a Royal Navy Vanguard-class ballistic missile submarine. Trident II missile image.jpg
A Trident II missile fires its first stage after an underwater launch from a Royal Navy Vanguard-class ballistic missile submarine.

The second variant of the Trident is more sophisticated and can carry a heavier payload. It is accurate enough to be a first strike, counterforce, or second strike weapon. All three stages of the Trident II are made of graphite epoxy, making the missile much lighter. The Trident II was the original missile on the British Vanguard-class and American Ohio-class SSBNs from Tennessee on. The D5 missile is currently carried by fourteen Ohio-class and four Vanguard-class SSBNs. There have been 172 successful test flights of the D5 missile since design completion in 1989, the most recent being from USS Rhode Island in May 2019. [11] There have been fewer than 10 test flights that were failures, [12] the most recent being from HMS Vanguard in January 2024. This is the second failure in a row for the Royal Navy after a launch from HMS Vengeance, one of Britain's four nuclear-armed submarines, off the coast of Florida in June 2016. [13]

The Royal Navy operates their missiles from a shared pool, together with the Atlantic squadron of the U.S. Navy Ohio-class SSBNs at King's Bay, Georgia. The pool is 'co-mingled' and missiles are selected at random for loading on to either nation's submarines. [14]

D5LE (D5 Life Extension Program)

In 2002, the United States Navy announced plans to extend the life of the submarines and the D5 missiles to the year 2040. [15] This requires a D5 Life Extension Program (D5LEP), which is currently underway. The main aim is to replace obsolete components at minimal cost[ citation needed ] by using commercial off the shelf (COTS) hardware; all the while maintaining the demonstrated performance of the existing Trident II missiles. In 2007, Lockheed Martin was awarded a total of $848 million in contracts to perform this and related work, which also includes upgrading the missiles' reentry systems. [16] On the same day, Draper Labs was awarded $318 million for upgrade of the guidance system. [16] Then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair outlined plans in Parliament on 4 December 2006 to build a new generation of submarines (Dreadnought-class) to carry existing Trident missiles, and join the D5LE project to refurbish them. [17]

The first flight test of a D-5 LE subsystem, the MK 6 Mod 1 guidance system, in Demonstration and Shakedown Operation (DASO)-23, [18] took place on USS Tennessee on 22 February 2012. [19] This was almost exactly 22 years after the first Trident II missile was launched from Tennessee in February 1990.

D5LE2 (D5 Life Extension Program 2)

US Navy Vice Admiral Johnny Wolfe, in charge of overall submarine weapons systems procurement, indicated in 2020 that he had initiated trade studies to apply lessons from the D5LE program to extend the Trident II's lifespan to 2084. Wolfe said he expected the first D5LE2 missiles to be deployed aboard the ninth Columbia-class submarine by FY 2039. [20] [21]

Conventional Trident

The Pentagon proposed the Conventional Trident Modification program in 2006 to diversify its strategic options, [22] as part of a broader long-term strategy to develop worldwide rapid strike capabilities, dubbed "Prompt Global Strike".

The $503 million program would have converted existing Trident II missiles (presumably two missiles per submarine) into conventional weapons, by fitting them with modified Mk4 reentry vehicles equipped with GPS for navigation update and a reentry guidance and control (trajectory correction) segment to perform 10-meter class impact accuracy. No explosive is said to be used since the reentry vehicle's mass and hypersonic impact velocity provide sufficient mechanical energy and "effect". The second conventional warhead version is a fragmentation version that would disperse thousands of tungsten rods which could obliterate an area of 3000 square feet (approximately 280 square meters). [23] It offered the promise of accurate conventional strikes with little warning and flight time.

The primary drawback of using conventionally armed ballistic missiles is that to missile warning systems, they are virtually indistinguishable from nuclear armed missiles. This leaves open the likelihood that other nuclear-armed countries might mistake it for a nuclear launch which could provoke a counterattack. For that reason among others, this project raised a substantial debate before the US Congress for the FY07 Defense budget, but also internationally. [24] Russian President Vladimir Putin, among others, warned that the project would increase the danger of accidental nuclear war. "The launch of such a missile could ... provoke a full-scale counterattack using strategic nuclear forces," Putin said in May 2006. [25]

Operators

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Ohio</i>-class submarine Class of US nuclear ballistic missile submarines

The Ohio class of nuclear-powered submarines includes the United States Navy's 14 ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) and its four cruise missile submarines (SSGNs). Each displacing 18,750 tons submerged, the Ohio-class boats are the largest submarines ever built for the U.S. Navy. They are also the third-largest submarines ever built, behind the Russian Navy's Soviet era 48,000-ton Typhoon class, the last of which was retired in 2023, and 24,000-ton Borei class. Capable of carrying 24 Trident II missiles apiece, the Ohio class are equipped with just as many missiles as, if not more than, either the Borei class (16) or the deactivated Typhoon class (20).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UGM-27 Polaris</span> Submarine-launched ballistic missile

The UGM-27 Polaris missile was a two-stage solid-fueled nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). As the United States Navy's first SLBM, it served from 1961 to 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UGM-73 Poseidon</span> Strategic SLBM

The UGM-73 Poseidon missile was the second US Navy nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) system, powered by a two-stage solid-fuel rocket. It succeeded the UGM-27 Polaris beginning in 1972, bringing major advances in warheads and accuracy. It was followed by Trident I in 1979, and Trident II in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Submarine-launched ballistic missile</span> Self-propelled gravity-assisted guided weapon flying from an independent underwater craft

A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from submarines. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), each of which carries a nuclear warhead and allows a single launched missile to strike several targets. Submarine-launched ballistic missiles operate in a different way from submarine-launched cruise missiles.

<i>Vanguard</i>-class submarine Royal Navy ballistic missile submarine class

The Vanguard class is a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) in service with the Royal Navy. The class was introduced in 1994 as part of the Trident nuclear programme, and comprises four vessels: Vanguard, Victorious, Vigilant and Vengeance, built between 1986 and 1999 at Barrow-in-Furness by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering, now owned by BAE Systems. All four boats are based at HM Naval Base Clyde , 40 km (25 mi) west of Glasgow, Scotland.

USS <i>Patrick Henry</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Patrick Henry (SSBN-599), named after the American Revolutionary War figure and Founding Father Patrick Henry (1736–1799), was a George Washington class nuclear-powered fleet ballistic missile submarine of the United States Navy. She was later converted into an attack submarine and redesignated SSN-599.

A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. These submarines became a major weapon system in the Cold War because of their nuclear deterrence capability. They can fire missiles thousands of kilometers from their targets, and acoustic quieting makes them difficult to detect, thus making them a survivable deterrent in the event of a first strike and a key element of the mutual assured destruction policy of nuclear deterrence. The deployment of ballistic missile submarines is dominated by the United States and Russia. Smaller numbers are in service with France, the United Kingdom, China and India; North Korea is also suspected to have an experimental submarine that is diesel-electric powered.

41 for Freedom US Navy Fleet Ballistic Missile submarines

41 for Freedom refers to the US Navy Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) submarines from the George Washington, Ethan Allen, Lafayette, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin classes. All of these submarines were commissioned 1959–1967, as the goal was to create a credible, survivable sea-based deterrent as quickly as possible. These submarines were nicknamed "41 for Freedom" once the goal of 41 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) was established in the early 1960s. The 1972 SALT I Treaty limited the number of American submarine-launched ballistic missile tubes to 656, based on the total missile tubes of the forty-one submarines, in line with the treaty's goal of limiting strategic nuclear weapons to the number already existing.

<i>Lafayette</i>-class submarine United States Navy class of fleet ballistic missile submarines

The Lafayette class of submarine was an evolutionary development from the Ethan Allen class of fleet ballistic missile submarine, slightly larger and generally improved. This class, together with the George Washington, Ethan Allen, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin classes, composed the "41 for Freedom," the Navy's primary contribution to the nuclear deterrent force through the late 1980s. The James Madison and Benjamin Franklin classes are combined with the Lafayettes in some references.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UGM-96 Trident I</span> Submarine-launched ballistic missile

The UGM-96 Trident I, or Trident C4, was an American submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Sunnyvale, California. First deployed in 1979, the Trident I replaced the Poseidon missile. It was retired in 2005, having been replaced by the Trident II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UGM-133 Trident II</span> US/UK SLBM

The UGM-133A Trident II, or Trident D5 is a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), built by Lockheed Martin Space in Sunnyvale, California, and deployed with the United States and Royal Navy. It was first deployed in March 1990, and remains in service. The Trident II Strategic Weapons System is an improved SLBM with greater accuracy, payload, and range than the earlier Trident C-4. It is a key element of the U.S. strategic nuclear triad and strengthens U.S. strategic deterrence. The Trident II is considered to be a durable sea-based system capable of engaging many targets. It has payload flexibility that can accommodate various treaty requirements, such as New START. The Trident II's increased payload allows nuclear deterrence to be accomplished with fewer submarines, and its high accuracy—approaching that of land-based missiles—enables it to be used as a first strike weapon.

USS <i>Alaska</i> (SSBN-732) Submarine of the United States

USS Alaska (SSBN-732), is a United States Navy Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine which has been in commission since 1986. She is the fourth US Navy ship to be named for the Territory or State of Alaska.

USS <i>Casimir Pulaski</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Casimir Pulaski (SSBN-633), a James Madison-class ballistic missile submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Casimir Pulaski (1745–1779), a Polish general who served in the American Revolutionary War.

Lockheed Martin Space is one of the four major business divisions of Lockheed Martin. It has its headquarters in Littleton, Colorado, with additional sites in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; Sunnyvale, California; Santa Cruz, California; Huntsville, Alabama; and elsewhere in the United States and United Kingdom. The division currently employs about 20,000 people, and its most notable products are commercial and military satellites, space probes, missile defense systems, NASA's Orion spacecraft, and the Space Shuttle external tank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">W76</span> US thermonuclear warhead of the 1970s

The W76 is an American thermonuclear warhead, designed for use on the UGM-96 Trident I submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) and subsequently moved to the UGM-133 Trident II as Trident I was phased out of service. The first variant, the W76 mod 0 (W76-0) was manufactured from 1978 to 1987, and was gradually replaced by the W76 mod 1 (W76-1) between 2008 and 2018, completely replacing the Mod 0 in the active stockpile. In 2018 it was announced that some Mod 1 warheads would be converted to a new low-yield W76 mod 2 (W76-2) version. The first Mod 2 warheads were deployed in late 2019.

HMS <i>Vigilant</i> (S30) 1996 Vanguard-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine of the Royal Navy

HMSVigilant is the third Vanguard-class submarine of the Royal Navy. Vigilant carries the Trident ballistic missile, the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent.

The UGM-89 Perseus was a proposed U.S. Navy submarine-launched anti-ship (AShM) and anti-submarine (ASW) cruise missile that was developed under the Submarine Tactical Missile (STAM) project, which was also referred to as the Submarine Anti-ship Weapon System (STAWS). This missile system was to be the centerpiece for a proposed third-generation nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine championed by then-Vice Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, the influential but controversial head of the Navy's nuclear propulsion program.

<i>Columbia</i>-class submarine US Navy nuclear ballistic missile submarine class

The Columbia-class is an upcoming class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines designed to replace the Ohio class of the United States Navy. Construction of the first submarine began on 1 October 2020. It is scheduled to enter service in 2031.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">STRAT-X</span> U.S. government-sponsored study

STRAT-X, or Strategic-Experimental, was a U.S. government-sponsored study conducted during 1966 and 1967 that comprehensively analyzed the potential future of the U.S. nuclear deterrent force. At the time, the Soviet Union was making significant strides in nuclear weapons delivery, and also constructing anti-ballistic missile defenses to protect strategic facilities. To address a potential technological gap between the two superpowers, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara entrusted the classified STRAT-X study to the Institute for Defense Analyses, which compiled a twenty-volume report in nine months. The report looked into more than one hundred different weapons systems, ultimately resulting in the MGM-134 Midgetman and LGM-118 Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missiles, the Ohio-class submarines, and the Trident submarine-launched ballistic missiles, among others. Journalists have regarded STRAT-X as a major influence on the course of U.S. nuclear policy.

References

  1. ↑ "SSBN-SSGN Ohio Class Submarine". Naval Technology. 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  2. ↑ "Trident II D-5". Atomic Archive. Archived from the original on 12 December 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "The World", Los Angeles Times, January 19, 1977, p.I-2
  4. ↑ Popejoy, Mary (5 November 2005). "USS Alabama Offloads Last of C4 Trident Missiles". navy.mil. US Navy. Archived from the original on 12 September 2007. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  5. ↑ Suzanne Doyle, "The United States Sale of Trident to Britain, 1977–1982: Deal Making in the Anglo-American Relationship." Diplomacy and Statecraft, 28:3 (2017), 477–493.
  6. ↑ "Letter to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of the United Kingdom Confirming the Sale of the Trident II Missile System to Her Country". 11 March 1982. Archived from the original on 13 September 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  7. ↑ Ministry of Defence and Property Services Agency: Control and Management of the Trident Programme. National Audit Office. 29 June 1987. Part 4. ISBN   0-10-202788-9.
  8. ↑ "Analysis of the Fiscal Year 2012 Pentagon Spending Request". Cost of War. 15 February 2011. Archived from the original on 5 August 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  9. ↑ Kristensen, Hans M.; McKinzie, Matthew; Postol, Theodore A. (1 March 2017). "How US nuclear force modernization is undermining strategic stability: The burst-height compensating super-fuze". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017.
  10. ↑ "New US "Super-Fuze" Triples the Destructive Power of Submarine Launched Nuclear Weapons". Scout.com. 24 March 2017. Archived from the original on 18 April 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  11. ↑ "USS Rhode Island Successfully Tests Trident II D5 Missile". U.S. Navy Strategic Systems Programs Public Affairs. 9 May 2019. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  12. ↑ McCann, Kate; Dominiczak, Peter; Swinford, Steven (23 January 2017). "US Trident failure claims contradict Michael Fallon". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 25 January 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  13. ↑ "How serious was the Trident missile test failure?". UK Defence Journal. 22 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  14. ↑ "Freedon of information request about the UK nuclear deterrent" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. 19 July 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 October 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  15. ↑ "Navy Awards Lockheed Martin $248 Million Contract for Trident II D5 Missile Production and D5 Service Life Extension" (Press release). Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. 29 January 2002. Archived from the original on 27 February 2009. Retrieved 28 January 2009.
  16. 1 2 "Defence.gov: Contracts for Monday 26th November 2007" (Press release). US DoD. 26 November 2007. Archived from the original on 29 August 2010. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  17. ↑ "UK nuclear weapons plan unveiled". BBC News . 4 December 2006. Archived from the original on 8 November 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  18. ↑ "DASO 23 Video". US Navy. 22 February 2012. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  19. ↑ "Back to the Future with Trident Life Extension" (PDF). Undersea Warfare Magazine. US Navy. Spring 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  20. ↑ Burgess, Richard R. (8 November 2018). "Next Sub-Launched Ballistic Missile 'Won't Be Completely New'". Seapower. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  21. ↑ Burgess, Richard R. (10 June 2021). "Navy's SSP Admiral: New Missile Planned for Introduction on 9th Columbia SSBN". Seapower. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  22. ↑ "Future Ballistic Missile Projects (United States), Offensive weapons". Jane's Strategic Weapon Systems. 27 October 2011. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  23. ↑ Shachtman, Noah (4 December 2006). "Hypersonic Cruise Missile:America's New Global Strike Weapon". Popular Mechanics . Archived from the original on 17 January 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  24. ↑ Wood, Sara, Sgt. (2006). "Conventional Missile System to Provide Diverse, Rapid Capabilities". US Department of Defense. Archived from the original on 14 April 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  25. ↑ Rosenberg, Eric (6 October 2006). "Experts warn of an accidental atomic war". San Francisco Chronicle . Archived from the original on 8 June 2008. Retrieved 9 October 2006.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.