The US is building a nuclear sea-launched cruise missile Congress must make sure its built right.
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The 14-foot, subsonic JASSM ranges just 230 miles, but its stealthy shape helps it to avoid detection and interception. A final unmentioned item worthy of policy guidance relates to production. One of the many lessons of the Ukraine conflict is how quickly missiles and munitions are expended in a conflict with a major power. European countries who have given their air defenses to Ukraine, for instance, will no doubt be expecting a backfill. NATO’s air defense initiatives signal a demand for significant procurement and the potential for collaborative and bulk approaches. The MDR notes how Russia uses “several lower-tier air defense systems for its own use and export as a foreign policy instrument.” The sale of the S-400 to countries like Turkey and India, for instance, has certainly been a wedge within the alliances.
Problematic development
Quail was the ultimate outcome of several similar programs to develop a small decoy aircraft that would be launched from bombers during their approach to targets, presenting false targets to saturate the defenses and allow the bombers to escape an attack. The small jet-powered drone aircraft had a simple inertial navigation system (INS) that allowed it to fly a pre-programmed course that would make it visible to known Soviet defensive sites. A number of radar jammers and radar reflectors were intended to make it appear like a B-52 on a radar display. The United States Air Force (USAF) deploys an air-launched cruise missile, the AGM-86 ALCM. The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is the exclusive delivery vehicle for the AGM-86 and AGM-129 ACM. Both missile types are configurable for either conventional or nuclear warheads.
Tomahawk (missile)
Analysts say anti-aircraft missile technology is an area where North Korea could benefit from its deepening military cooperation with Russia, as the two countries align in the face of their separate, intensifying confrontations with the U.S. The United States and South Korea have accused North Korea of providing artillery shells and other equipment to Russia to help extend its warfighting in Ukraine. Analysts say anti-aircraft missile technology is an area where North Korea could benefit from its deepening military cooperation with Russia, as the two countries align in the face of their separate, intensifying confrontations with the U.S. The South Korean and U.S. air forces held joint air drills in Gunsan, South Korea on Friday, where they practiced ways to detect and counter enemy threats. But it’s the JASSM-ER that U.S. forces are counting on to win a war with China.
ALCM Development
Another contract worth $254.6m was awarded for Tomahawk Block IV in the same year. The Tactical Tomahawk Weapons Control System (TTWCS) integrated within the ship’s systems computes the path to engage targets. The system enables the planning of new missions on board the launch vessel. TTWCS is also used to communicate with multiple missiles for reassigning the targets and redirecting the missiles in flight.
U.S., Not Israel, Shot Down Most Iran Drones and Missiles - The Intercept
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AGM-86C/D
Production of the initial 225 AGM-86B missiles began in fiscal year 1980. It entered operational use on the B-52H in August 1981 and became its primary weapon in December 1982. The air-launched cruise missile had become operational four years earlier, in December 1982. More than 100 launches have taken place since then, with a 90% approximate success rate. Some missiles can be fitted with any of a variety of navigation systems (Inertial navigation, TERCOM, or satellite navigation).
Meanwhile, new versions of the Lockheed Martin AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) and the Tomahawk missiles are set to enter production. Finally, a new class of air vehicle that blurs the line between a cruise missile and an unmanned aircraft system is gaining traction. It didn’t take long for the Navy to discover that the SM-6 with its sophisticated seeker—which Raytheon borrowed from the AMRAAM air-to-air missile—works against ballistic missiles, ships and ground targets, too. There were single- or twin-arm launchers for long-range surface-to-air missiles.
The US Government approved an agreement in 2003 to deliver 65 Tomahawk Block IV missiles for the UK. In August 2004, the US Navy placed a $1.6bn multi-year procurement contract with Raytheon for 2,200 Tomahawk Block IV missiles. The Tomahawk Block IV missile is powered by a Williams International F415 cruise turbo-fan engine and ARC MK 135 rocket motor.
The Tomahawk is designed to operate at very low altitudes while maintaining high-subsonic speeds. Its modular design enables the integration of numerous types of warheads, guidance and control systems. The Tomahawk family of missiles includes a number of variants, carrying different warheads. The SLCM-N was recommended early in 2018, but it took several years for officials to complete the military requirements and conduct an analysis of alternatives. By this point, there was a new administration, and the Biden administration’s Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) reversed the SLCM-N decision in 2022.
Pages in category "Cruise missiles of the United States"
By lightening the missile’s frame and rearranging its components to make more room for fuel, Lockheed doubled its range without adding much to its $1.3-million unit cost. This is exactly what USAF planners and Lockheed Martin had in mind when they conceived of, developed and deployed the JASSM, and later the JASSM-ER, starting in the late 1990s. The original JASSM—with its 1,000-pound warhead, GPS and inertial navigation and infrared seeker—entered USAF service in 2003.
Then NORAD took the design outside of the headquarters to the Globally Integrated War Game, which addressed the capabilities at a broader level with the services and combatant commands. The ALCM so improved the capabilities of the US bomber force that the Soviets developed new technologies to counter the weapon. Among these were airborne early warning aircraft and new weapons like the MiG-31 and Tor missile system specifically to shoot down the AGM-86.[3] The Air Force responded with the development of the AGM-129 ACM, which included stealth capabilities. The ending of the Cold War led to cutbacks in this program, and its expensive maintenance eventually resulted in it being abandoned in favor of life extensions to the original ALCM. The United States Air Force's first operational surface-to-surface missile was the winged, mobile, nuclear-capable MGM-1 Matador, also similar in concept to the V-1. Deployment overseas began in 1954, first to West Germany and later to the Republic of China and South Korea.
This could help control the potential for high costs and extended schedules. Likewise, Congress should ensure that the Department of Defense does not generate such onerous military requirements for the SLCM-N that the perfect becomes the enemy of the good. The existence of this model became known only after its use in the 1991 Gulf War. Starting in 1986, a total of 622 AGM-86s were converted to the conventional configuration. Several different variations have been manufactured including Block 1/-1A and the AGM-86D (Block 2). The conversion process entails replacing nearly every part including modifying the engine, updating the guidance systems, and removing the nuclear warhead.
Photos released by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency showed at least two missiles being fired off launcher trucks at a runway. The brevity of the 2022 review means that it leaves several issues unmentioned. As a bridge to the fielding of the NGLAW, the Tomahawk itself reentered production in 2020 to support the improved Block V variant.
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