MGM-134 Midgetman
| MGM-134 Midgetman | |
|---|---|
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| General Information | |
| Type | ICBM |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Martin (LTV) |
| development | 1984 |
| Commissioning | Development stopped |
| Technical specifications | |
| length | 14.00 m |
| diameter | 1,170 mm |
| Combat weight | 13,600 kg |
| Drive First stage Second stage Third stage |
Solid solid solid |
| Range | 11,000 km |
| Furnishing | |
| Target location | INS and GPS |
| Warhead |
W87 nuclear warhead , 475 kt re-entry body Mark 21 |
| Weapon platforms | Truck , Hard Mobile Launcher (HML) |
| Lists on the subject | |
The MGM-134 Midgetman , as SICBM ( Small Intercontinental Ballistic Missile hereinafter) was designed for mobile use nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile of the US armed forces .
The Midgetman was developed from the need formulated by the US Air Force in the mid-1980s for a small ICBM that could be deployed mobile on road vehicles. Since missile silos are vulnerable to a first strike launched by submarines (short flight time if shot down off the coast), the US military leadership saw the ability to retaliate . This ability should be restored by the mobile stationing. Since the Soviet Union also developed mobile systems with the RT-23 Molodez (SS-24) and the RT-2PM Topol (SS-25) , the USA followed suit with the Midgetman.
The rocket
System definition studies for the SICBM (Small Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) began in 1984 and Martin Marietta was authorized in 1986 to develop the XMGM-134A Midgetman missile. The first prototype was launched in 1989 at Vandenberg Air Force Base , but the test failed. A second test flight in 1991 was successful.
The XMGM-134A was designed as a three-stage solid rocket . Like the larger LGM-118 Peacekeeper , it was also started using a cold start system, in which the rocket was catapulted out of its launch tube by means of gas pressure and was only ignited at a height of a few meters outside the launch device.
The Midgetman had a range of about 11,000 kilometers. The warhead consisted of a single Mk. 21 re-entry vehicle with a 475 kiloton thermonuclear bomb of the W87-1 type , which was also used on the Peacekeeper missile. The inertial navigation system gave the Midgetman a target accuracy ( CEP ) of 90 m.
With the end of the Cold War, the US reduced its new developments in nuclear weapons and therefore discontinued the program in January 1992.
The launch vehicle
The Midgetman missile was to be stationed in an armored launch vehicle called the Hard Mobile Launcher (HML). These vehicles, built by Boeing Aerospace and Electronics in cooperation with the Loral Defense Systems Division, should normally remain in a base and only be deployed on the move when war threatens to break out in international crises, in order to be less endangered in the event of an enemy first strike .
The vehicle could reach a speed of almost 90 km / h on highways and was off-road. The drive consisted of a Rolls-Royce - Perkins - diesel engine of 1200 hp, which drove all eight wheels of the tractor via electro-hydraulic power transmission. The total weight of the vehicle was 108 tons. A plow was attached to the rocket trailer, with the help of which the trailer could be buried in the earth for additional protection against pressure waves.
The vehicle was delivered to the US Air Force in December 1988 and tested at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana until 1991 .
See also
Web links
- Directory of US Military Rockets and Missiles: Martin Marietta MGM-134 Midgetman
- Midgetman / Small ICBM
Individual evidence
- ↑ Global Security: MGM-134A Midgetman / Small ICBM