Misplaced Pages

#299700

37-564: The missile reportedly has an operational range between 12,000 to 15,000 kilometres (7,500 to 9,300 mi). It is believed to have a top speed of Mach 25, and to be capable of MIRV delivery (up to 10). The development of the MIRV technology is reported to be in response to the deployment of the United States national missile defense system which degrades China's nuclear deterrence capability. The project started in 1986, and may now be coupled with

74-438: 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

111-492: A "light" and "heavy", both called the Mark 12. In January 1963, development of a MRV system for Minuteman was authorized. At this time, the navy asked to become an observer for the program. In April 1963, the system feasibility study was released. Three warhead designs of varying hardness, yield and weight were proposed for the light warhead, and two for the heavy warhead. The concept of multiple independent reentry vehicles (MIRV)

148-484: 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

185-492: 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 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

222-605: 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

259-459: 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)

296-558: 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 the US's deployable nuclear arsenal and thus the possibility that it would have enough bombs to destroy virtually all of

333-704: A weapon that was less suitable for either application. The first production W62 was produced in April 1970. The warhead was partially replaced by the W78 starting in December 1979 and fully replaced by the W87 warhead in 2010, thereafter it was retired and dismantled. The exact dimensions of the W62 are classified, but it fits within the Mark 12 reentry vehicle which is 22 in (56 cm) in diameter and 72 in (1.8 m) long. The weight of

370-449: A yield of 1.2 megatonnes of TNT (5.0 PJ), while its successor, the W78, has a yield of 330 to 350 kilotonnes of TNT (1,400 to 1,500 TJ). The weapon had contact and airburst fuzing modes. Development of the warhead required "numerous" nuclear tests between 1963 and 1968. Some of these tests were to develop the primary and for one-point safety testing of the system. Two or three warheads were carried on Minuteman III, depending on

407-552: 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 the boost phase,

SECTION 10

#1732852580300

444-409: 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

481-654: The JL-3 program. Though there have been reports that the DF-41 can carry 3 to 8 warheads , analysts think it most likely carries only three warheads, with the additional payload used for many penetration aids . In April 2013, Taiwan 's National Security Bureau head reported to the Legislative Yuan that the DF-41 was still in development, and not yet deployed. The U.S. Department of Defense in its 2013 report to Congress on China's military developments made no explicit mention of

518-606: 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 a factor of 6 while the Soviets increased theirs by a factor of 10. Furthermore,

555-464: 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) 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

592-788: The DF-41 was tested in the Gobi Desert . On October 1, 2019, China publicly displayed the missiles for the first time on its 70th Anniversary National Day military parade . On 5 December 2015, China conducted a launcher test of a new rail-mobile version of the DF-41, similar to the Russian RT-23 Molodets . In 2021, the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) said China was building 120 missile silos for DF-41 near Yumen in Gansu and another 110 missile silos near Hami in Xinjiang . A third site

629-424: The DF-41, but did state that "China may also be developing a new road-mobile ICBM, possibly capable of carrying a multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle (MIRV)", which may refer to the DF-41. In August 2014, China's Shaanxi Provincial Environmental Monitoring Center website accidentally published a news report about an environmental monitoring site for a DF-41 ICBM; the news report (and entire website)

666-498: 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

703-591: 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 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

740-461: 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 the ICBM disadvantage. It

777-479: The W62 has been described as both 253 lb (115 kg) and 700 to 800 lb (320 to 360 kg), however a declassified document circa 1963 states that the combined weight of the warheads in the three warhead configuration for Minuteman would be approximately 750 lb (340 kg) or 250 lb (110 kg) per warhead. The yield of the W62 is publicly believed to be 170 kilotonnes of TNT (710 TJ). The W56 warhead on Minuteman III's predecessor had

SECTION 20

#1732852580300

814-530: 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

851-513: The design was changed to allow for more forward placing of the warhead, reducing total weight. The first test of the secondary was in September. In November, the system specifications were changed to support development of an MIRV system. A series of changes were made to the weapon requirements in regards to hardening in 1964 and 1965. This included a second weapon effects test, Gumdrop of Operation Whetstone 21 April 1965. These led to changes in

888-461: 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

925-493: The primary stage design in March 1965. In 1966, significant effort was devoted towards hardening the warhead systems against weapon effects to prevent x-ray pin-down. In the same year, the warhead was delayed due to RV ablation causing some RVs to break up on reentry. In October 1967, navy cooperation on the Mark 12 was terminated, as the need to make the warhead compatible with both air force and navy requirements ultimately lead to

962-445: 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 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

999-561: The warhead, which was complicated by the navy having more stringent vulnerability requirements than the air force. In 1964, the heavy warhead was spun off as the Mark 17 warhead, which became the W67 warhead , and in March, there were further investigations into even lighter warheads than the baseline Mark 12 light design. The initial secondary stage in the warhead was of the "conventional design", but in July

1036-763: 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

1073-499: Was an American thermonuclear warhead designed in the 1960s and manufactured from March 1970 to June 1976. Used on some Minuteman III ICBMs, it was partially replaced by the W78 starting in December 1979, and fully replaced by W87 warheads removed from MX Peacekeeper missiles and retired in 2010. The concept of the W62 began in 1961 with an air force study into reentry vehicles for "multiple mode", what Multiple Reentry Vehicles (MRV)

1110-541: Was developed in late 1962 and early 1963. Several independent inventors are credited with the idea, with the technological concept originating in the Able-Star and Trantstage systems. Able-Star was a system for the Thor rocket that allowed for the deployment of multiple satellites from a single rocket into multiple orbits. Transtage was a highly maneuverable post-boost control system developed without any specific mission in mind, but

1147-553: Was discovered to be under construction near Ordos in Inner Mongolia in August, 2021. The new site will hold more than 100 ICBM. Together, the three new missile bases will house 350 to 400 new long-range nuclear missiles, U.S. officials said. MIRV A multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle ( MIRV ) is an exoatmospheric ballistic missile payload containing several warheads , each capable of being aimed to hit

DF-41 - Misplaced Pages Continue

1184-449: 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 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

1221-565: Was taken down shortly after getting public attention. In August 2015, the missile was flight-tested for the fourth time. In December 2015, the missile was flight-tested for the fifth time. In April 2016, China successfully conducted the 7th test of DF-41. On January 23, 2017, China was reported to have deployed a strategic ballistic missile brigade to Heilongjiang province, bordering Russia, along with another strategic ballistic missile brigade deploying to Xinjiang . In November 2017, just two days before U.S. President Trump's visit to China,

1258-586: 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 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

1295-454: Was then called. The study proposed a Mark 12 RV for Minuteman, a Mark 13 RV for Titan II and a Mark 14 RV for Titan I and Atlas . The primary goal of these new RVs was to overcome terminal anti-ballistic missile defenses. One of the earliest effects tests of this new RV was shot Marshmallow of Operation Nougat in 1962. In August 1962 the Mark 12 RV developed into the twin-RV concept, consisting of two different reentry vehicles:

1332-559: Was used for the IDCSP defense communication satellite system. Further developments included the miniaturization of thermonuclear weapons. In October 1963, the director for defense research requested that the air force and navy cooperate on the Mark 12 program so that the warhead could be used interchangeably on both the Minuteman and Polaris missiles. The immediate effect was for the air force and navy to adopt common vulnerability requirement for

1369-578: Was used, and Ukrainian media initially reported it was an RS-26 Rubezh ICBM with range 5,800 km. The US and Russia confirmed it was intermediate-range (3,000–5,500 km), but the Pentagon stated it was based on the RS-26 ICBM. It was fired from the Astrakhan region 700 km away. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric called the use of the intermediate-range weapon "concerning and worrying". W62 The W62

#299700