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36-567: As part of the WS-199 project to develop new strategic weapons for the United States Air Force 's Strategic Air Command , McDonnell Aircraft developed the Alpha Draco missile between 1957 and 1959, under a contract to launch three vehicles to determine the feasibility of the boost-glide reentry vehicle (BGRV) concept. The purpose of the rocket was to establish whether a strategic missile using

72-464: A Thiokol TX-20 solid-fuel rocket of the type used in the MGM-29 Sergeant theater ballistic missile , and the second stage using a Thiokol TX-30 solid-fuel rocket. The payload vehicle was aerodynamically shaped, using the lifting body principle to provide aerodynamic lift; following burnout of the first stage, the vehicle would coast for a short time before ignition of the second stage, burnout of

108-438: A ballistic missile deploys multiple warheads above a single aimpoint which then drift apart, producing a cluster bomb-like effect. These warheads are not individually targetable. The advantage of an MRV over a single warhead is the increased effectiveness due to the greater coverage; this increases the overall damage produced within the center of the pattern, making it far greater than the damage possible from any single warhead in

144-496: A concrete flame deflector and a gantry modified from that used by the Honest John battlefield missile , three test launches of the Alpha Draco vehicle were conducted during 1959. The initial flight, on February 16, was successful; the second flight, one month later, also fulfilled its test goals. The final launch of the Alpha Draco on April 30, however, suffered a flight-control failure and was destroyed by range safety command. With

180-484: A covert purpose to map mass concentrations and determine local gravity anomalies , in order to improve accuracies of ballistic missiles. Accuracy is expressed as circular error probable (CEP). This is the radius of the circle that the warhead has a 50 percent chance of falling into when aimed at the center. CEP is about 90–100 m for the Trident II and Peacekeeper missiles. A multiple re-entry vehicle (MRV) system for

216-612: A factor of 6 while the Soviets increased theirs by a factor of 10. Furthermore, the US had a much smaller proportion of its nuclear arsenal in ICBMs than the Soviets. Bombers could not be outfitted with MIRVs so their capacity would not be multiplied. Thus the US did not seem to have as much potential for MIRV usage as the Soviets. However, the US had a larger number of submarine-launched ballistic missiles , which could be outfitted with MIRVs, and helped offset

252-605: A miniaturized physics package and a lower mass re-entry vehicle, both of which are highly advanced technologies. As a result, single-warhead missiles are more attractive for nations with less advanced or less productive nuclear technology. The United States first deployed MRV warheads on the Polaris A-3 SLBM in 1964 on the USS Daniel Webster . The Polaris A-3 missile carried three warheads each having an approximate yield of 200 kilotonnes of TNT (840 TJ). This system

288-459: A new Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile , striking Dnipro . Analysts stated the missile used a multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV), likely marking their first use in combat. The night attack was reported to see six sequential vertical flashes, each comprising a cluster of up to six individual projectiles. Ukraine's air force initially claimed an intercontinental ballistic missile (range greater than 5,500 km)

324-409: Is crucial because doubling the accuracy decreases the needed warhead energy by a factor of four for radiation damage and by a factor of eight for blast damage. Navigation system accuracy and the available geophysical information limits the warhead target accuracy. Some writers believe that government-supported geophysical mapping initiatives and ocean satellite altitude systems such as Seasat may have

360-571: Is the multiple reentry vehicle (MRV) missile which carries several warheads which are dispersed but not individually aimed. All nuclear-weapon states except Pakistan and North Korea are currently confirmed to have deployed MIRV missile systems. The first true MIRV design was the Minuteman III , first successfully tested in 1968 and introduced into actual use in 1970. The Minuteman III held three smaller W62 warheads, with yields of about 170 kilotons of TNT (710 TJ) each in place of

396-639: The Bold Orion missile was an air-launched ballistic missile , launched from the B-47 Stratojet medium bomber, with flight tests being carried out in 1958 and 1959. Early launches of the Bold Orion as a single-stage vehicle were unsuccessful, however a redesign as a two-stage weapon produced improved results, with the remainder of the 12-launch series establishing the ALBM as a viable vehicle. The final test flight trialed

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432-549: The boost-glide principle of reentry. Three launches of the vehicle were conducted during 1959, of which two were successful. Re-entry vehicles A multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle ( MIRV ) is an exoatmospheric ballistic missile payload containing several warheads , each capable of being aimed to hit a different target. The concept is almost invariably associated with intercontinental ballistic missiles carrying thermonuclear warheads , even if not strictly being limited to them. An intermediate case

468-503: The "boost-glide" principle of propulsion could be practically used. The idea had been proposed by Walter Dornberger , who had moved to McDonnell after working for a short time at Bell Aircraft . Dornberger had originally worked on the idea as part of efforts to extend the range of the V-2 missile late in World War II . The Alpha Draco missile was a two-stage vehicle, the first stage comprising

504-624: The 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in order to avoid a massive arms race . In June 2017 the United States finished converting its Minuteman III missiles back to using a single reentry vehicle system, as part of its obligations under the New START treaty. The military purpose of a MIRV is fourfold: MIRV land-based ICBMs were considered destabilizing because they tended to put a premium on striking first . The world's first MIRV—US Minuteman III missile of 1970—threatened to rapidly increase

540-535: The Air Force was left in the position of potentially being cut out of the deterrence role. This was most forcibly pointed out in an internally circulated document entitled "The Problem of Polaris". The Air Force response was two-fold. One was WS-199, which explored various options to make the Air Force's own missiles as immune as the Navy's. The primary method was the air-launched missile, which would be kept on station close to

576-487: The Air Force's own missile developments. The Air Force intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) were liquid fueled and required considerable time to fuel and spin up their inertial platforms before launch, during which time they were open to air attack. This meant that a Soviet sneak attack by bombers on the ICBM bases, combined with using their own ICBMs against Strategic Air Command 's bomber bases, could significantly damage

612-536: The Air Force's strike capabilities. In comparison, Polaris could be launched from practically anywhere in huge areas of the Atlantic and Pacific and was essentially immune to attack. The Navy developed a policy known as "survivable deterrent force" of about 600 megatons, which they felt would deter any Soviet attack under any circumstances. As they laid plans to build the Polaris submarine fleet needed to carry these missiles,

648-523: The Bold Orion missile as an anti-satellite missile , passing within 4 miles (6.4 km) of Explorer VI , the first-ever interception of a satellite. Developed by Lockheed Aircraft , the High Virgo missile was developed as a single-stage air-launched ballistic missile, launched from the B-58 Hustler supersonic bomber. Four test flights were conducted during 1958 and 1959, of which two were successful;

684-561: The ICBM disadvantage. It is because of their first-strike capability that land-based MIRVs were banned under the START II agreement. START II was ratified by the Russian Duma on 14 April 2000, but Russia withdrew from the treaty in 2002 after the US withdrew from the ABM treaty . In a MIRV, the main rocket motor (or booster ) pushes a "bus" into a free-flight suborbital ballistic flight path. After

720-498: The MRV cluster; this makes for an efficient area-attack weapon and makes interception by anti-ballistic missiles more challenging due to the number of warheads being deployed at once. Improved warhead designs allow smaller warheads for a given yield, while better electronics and guidance systems allow greater accuracy. As a result, MIRV technology has proven more attractive than MRV for advanced nations. Multiple-warhead missiles require both

756-571: The Soviet Union but outside their defensive range, able to be launched at a moment's notice. They also explored ways to extend the range of ground-launched missiles, so that small mobile missiles might be able to carry out attacks from the United States without being subject to counterattack. Other options, not part of WS-199, included an active defense using the LIM-49 Nike Zeus and its follow-ons, and rail-based launchers. The designation WS-199A

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792-596: The US's deployable nuclear arsenal and thus the possibility that it would have enough bombs to destroy virtually all of the Soviet Union's nuclear weapons and negate any significant retaliation. Later on the US feared the Soviet's MIRVs because Soviet missiles had a greater throw-weight and could thus put more warheads on each missile than the US could. For example, the US MIRVs might have increased their warhead per missile count by

828-409: The United States phased out the use of MIRVs in ICBMs in 2014 to comply with New START , Russia continues to develop new ICBM designs using the technology. The introduction of MIRV led to a major change in the strategic balance. Previously, with one warhead per missile, it was conceivable that one could build a defense that used missiles to attack individual warheads. Any increase in missile fleet by

864-547: The boost phase, the bus maneuvers using small on-board rocket motors and a computerized inertial guidance system . It takes up a ballistic trajectory that will deliver a re-entry vehicle containing a warhead to a target and then releases a warhead on that trajectory. It then maneuvers to a different trajectory, releasing another warhead, and repeats the process for all warheads. The precise technical details are closely guarded military secrets , to hinder any development of enemy counter-measures. The bus's on-board propellant limits

900-569: The boost-glide concept was considered too immature for operational development. To be on the safe side, Minuteman silos were built deeper than required in case a boost-glide weapon would be fitted in the future. Although this never came to be, the extra depth proved invaluable as it allowed the missile to grow in length to the Minuteman III design without having to build new silos. [REDACTED] Media related to Alpha Draco at Wikimedia Commons WS-199 Weapons System 199 ( WS-199 )

936-461: The distances between targets of individual warheads to perhaps a few hundred kilometers. Some warheads may use small hypersonic airfoils during the descent to gain additional cross-range distance. Additionally, some buses (e.g. the British Chevaline system) can release decoys to confuse interception devices and radars , such as aluminized balloons or electronic noisemakers. Accuracy

972-452: The enemy could be countered by a similar increase in interceptors. With MIRV, a single new enemy missile meant that multiple interceptors would have to be built, meaning that it was much less expensive to increase the attack than the defense. This cost-exchange ratio was so heavily biased towards the attacker that the concept of mutual assured destruction became the leading concept in strategic planning and ABM systems were severely limited in

1008-408: The expenditure of the third and final vehicle, the program was concluded, the project's cost having come to a total of approximately $ 5 million USD ($ 54 million today). The program demonstrated that the vehicle was able to generate lift/drag ratio of 3.5 to 1, allowing it to greatly extend its range; it was also the first missile to achieve hypersonic flight inside of an atmosphere. Although this

1044-595: The final launch of the program tested the missile in the anti-satellite role, but suffered telemetry failure. The results of the Bold Orion and High Virgo tests assisted in the development of the WS-138 specification, which became the GAM-87 Skybolt ALBM. Developed by McDonnell Aircraft , the Alpha Draco missile was an experimental, ground-launched, two-stage missile that conducted research on re-entry vehicles and

1080-480: The second stage was followed by the vehicle entering the glide phase of flight, which would be terminated by a dive upon the target. The vehicle would enter a roll during its glide period to distribute aerodynamic heating. Guidance was provided by a Honeywell inertial guidance unit. Following modification of the launch pad at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station 's Launch Complex 10 to include

1116-581: The single 1.2 megatons of TNT (5.0 PJ) W56 used on the Minuteman II. From 1970 to 1975, the United States would remove approximately 550 earlier versions of the Minuteman ICBM in the Strategic Air Command 's (SAC) arsenal and replace them with the new Minuteman IIIs outfitted with a MIRV payload, increasing their overall effectiveness. The smaller power of the warheads used (W62, W78 and W87)

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1152-657: Was a weapons development program conducted by the United States Air Force to research and develop new strategic weapons systems for Strategic Air Command . Two air-launched and one ground-launched vehicles were developed as part of the program. While none entered production, they assisted in the development of both the GAM-87 Skybolt air-launched ballistic missile and that of re-entry vehicles for ballistic missiles. The US Navy began their Polaris missile project in December 1956, and this program presented serious problems for

1188-763: Was also used by the Royal Navy who also retained MRV with the Chevaline upgrade, though the number of warheads in Chevaline was reduced to two due to the ABM counter-measures carried. The Soviet Union deployed 3 MRVs on the R-27U SLBM and 3 MRVs on the R-36P ICBM. Refer to atmospheric re-entry for more details. On November 21, 2024, as part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine , Russia launched

1224-602: Was applied to Strategic Air Command's overall studies of future requirements, that were tested using the hardware developed under the other WS-199 subprojects. Receiving Congressional approval in 1957, the WS-199 project would award contracts to three different companies to develop experimental designs for new, hypersonic weapons. Although none of the weapons were planned to be operational, in an emergency they could be quickly developed for combat service. Developed by Martin Aircraft ,

1260-636: Was not put to immediate use, the tests provided valuable data that was used for later programs like the Boost Glide Reentry Vehicle and the ASSET and PRIME programs. Better understanding of the hypersonic lift process also led to the lifting body designs of the 1960s. McDonnell Aircraft proposed a development of the Alpha Draco concept for the USAF requirement that evolved into the Minuteman missile program, but

1296-527: Was offset by increasing the accuracy of the system, allowing it to attack the same hard targets as the larger, less accurate, W56. The MMIII was introduced specifically to address the Soviet construction of an anti-ballistic missile (ABM) system around Moscow; MIRV allowed the US to overwhelm any conceivable ABM system without increasing the size of their own missile fleet. The Soviets responded by adding MIRV to their R-36 design, first with three warheads in 1975, and eventually up to ten in later versions. While

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