ATK and Lockheed Martin to Develop Conventional Ballistic Missile for U.S. Navy

Tuesday July 12, 8:30 am ET

Global Strike Builds on ATK/Lockheed Martin Strategic Deterrence Partnership

Yahoo.com

 

MINNEAPOLIS, July 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK - News) and Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT - News) have been awarded a $9.2 million contract by the U.S. Navy's Strategic Systems Program (SSP) office to demonstrate and validate solid rocket motor technologies suitable for a Submarine Launched Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (SLIRBM).

SLIRBM is a conventional missile concept that builds on the heritage the two companies share in U.S. Navy strategic missile development (Lockheed Martin and ATK provide the U.S. Navy with the submarine-launched Trident D5 nuclear ballistic missile). SLIRBM is designed to precisely deliver a conventional payload on target at ranges in excess of 1100 miles within 10-15 minutes of launch.

 

ATK and Lockheed Martin will develop SLIRBM using numerous off-the-shelf components to speed the development of a low-cost solution while minimizing program risk. The SLIRBM design will share common hardware across all stages of the propulsion system to shorten development time while keeping the missile's cost and complexity to a minimum.

 

Under the 16-month contract, ATK and Lockheed Martin will develop the missile and validate its concept with first and second stage static firings conducted at ATK Thiokol's solid rocket motor facilities in Promontory, Utah. ATK Thiokol is the world's leading provider of solid rocket motors and associated technologies.

Two thoughts:

 

(1) The concept of a conventionally armed, submarine launched ballistic missile has been tossed around for awhile, but I have yet to hear of a way to overcome the attached risk, that is, the strategic level fear of other nuclear states when they detect a possibly nuclear armed ballistic missile rising from a missile sub.

 

(2) Why intermediate range ? Why not retain the intercontinental range of the Trident II D5 SLBM ? Perhaps this is related to the risk described above ?