DETERRENCE

The Nation's mix of strategic deterrent weapons has a purpose unique in the history of warfare: To prevent nuclear war.

The Fleet Ballistic Missile FBM Weapon System is the Navy's major contribution to this mix. Hidden, mobile, ready, a fleet of nuclear powered submarines, each carrying 16 nuclear tipped POLARIS or POSEIDON missiles, ranges the oceans of the world, assuring a potential enemy that, should he launch a nuclear attack on the United States, he would receive a devastating nuclear blow in response. He is thus deterred from initiating a nuclear exchange.

THE SYSTEM

The United States Navy's Fleet Ballistic Missile Weapon System, better known by the name of its missile, POLARIS, has been operational since 15 November 1960. On that date, the first FBM submarine, USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (SSBN 598) deployed on patrol with a full load of 16 tactical missiles.

development, building of hardware, training of crews, and construction of facilities, through the continued operational support of the deployed weapons systems. Operational FBM submarines in the Atlantic are under control of the Commander in Chief, U.S. Atlantic Command, who exercises his authority through the Commander in Chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, and Commander Submarine Force, U. S. Atlantic Fleet. FBM submarines in the Pacific are under the control of the Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Command, who exercises his authority through the Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet, and Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet.

Selection of targets and their assignment to operational FBM submarines are under the control of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

System development and production are managed for the Navy by the Director of Strategic Systems Projects, Rear Admiral Robert II. Wertheim. Assisting him is an imposing team of Navy missile experts, scientific leaders, universites and more than 20,000 industrial contractors and government agency personnel.

STATUS OF SYSTEM

All 41 ships of the authorized FBM submarine force have been on operational patrol. The 41st, USS WILL ROGERS (SSBN 659) was commissioned on 1 April 1967 and deployed on patrol on 3 October 1967. The first 10 submarines (598 and 608 Class) carry the POLARIS missile on operational patrol. Subsequently, the other 31 POLARIS SSBNs have been returned to the United States, and refitted to carry the longer range POSEIDON C-3 missile, which has been deployed in FBM submarines since March 1971. All 31 of the Navy's 41 FBM submarines scheduled to be converted to carry the POSEIDON C-3 have been completed.

The joint United States/United Kingdom program established by the Polaris Sales Agreement was a direct result of the now historic meeting at Nassau in December 1962 between President Kennedy and Prime Minister MacMillan. Strategic Systems Project Office (SSPO) has additional responsibilities related to the British Polaris Force.

Under the terms of the Sales Agreement, the U.S. has sold Polaris missiles (less warhead) to the U.K. In addition to the missiles, the subsystems which make up the weapon system were also sold. The British have built their own nuclear powered submarines to house the weapon system, and provided their own warheads. The U.K. deterrent force consists of 4 Polaris submarines, each carrying 16 nuclear Polaris A-3 missiles.

The Director, Strategic Systems Projects, is the U.S. project officer for this program. Rear Admiral Sir David Scott, KBE, CB, the Chief Polaris Executive (Royal Navy), is the British project officer. A small British staff is assigned to SSPO and a US liaison from SSPO has been assigned to duty in the British Ministry of Defence to assure prompt and effective support to the U.K. Polaris program. A joint Steering Task Group, chaired by the Admirals in turn, meets alternately in London and Washington three times a year.

Similar in size to the USS LAFAYETTE, the British submarines have the distinctive whale-like hull form the British have already adopted for their first generation nuclear hunter/killer submarines, with the diving planes positioned on either side of the bow and not on either side of the sail as the U.S. FBM submarines. The submarines are powered by British pressurized-water nuclear reactors built by Rolls-Royce and Associates of Derby. Each submarine is equipped with 16 nuclear tipped missiles.

The force operates from a modern, specially designed submarine base at Faslane on the Clyde in Scotland, with an associated Armament Depot at nearby Coulport. Located on the base, which includes accommodations, recreational facilities, and amenities to the most modern standards, is the Royal Navy's Polaris Weapon System School, commissioned 30 June 1966.

With almost unlimited cruising range and with endurance limited only by the crew, the FBM nuclear submarine is capable of extended submerged operations in the international waters of the world which comprise about 70 percent of the earth's surface. Free of the need to surface or extend a snorkel above the surface for continuous operation, FBM nuclear submarines remain hidden by an oceanic curtain, their locations unknown to any potential enemy. The POLARIS/POSEIDON missiles, powered by a solid propellant rocket motor, are ready for launch within minutes of receiving the command, without the need for a long countdown. Authority for launch command rests with the President. Mobile, hidden, ready for Instant action (or carefully delayed action), the FBM system provides the U.S. a powerful deterrent against a global war.

THE MISSILES

POLARIS, named for the North Star, is a two-stage ballistic missile, powered by solid fuel rocket motors and guided by a self-contained inertial guidance system independent of external commands or control. There is currently one generation of POLARIS, the A-3. POLARIS A-1 was officially retired from active duty when USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (SSBN 602), the last of the first five SSBNs to carry it, returned to the United States on 14 October 1965 for her initial overhaul and conversion to A-3. A-2 was officially retired from the Fleet when USS THOMAS JEFFERSON (SSBN 618) returned to the United States on 3 June 1974 for her initial overhaul and conversion to A-3.

POSEIDON, which has its roots in POLARIS technology, is a two-stage, solid propellant missile, capable of being launched from a submerged FBM submarine. It is 2 feet longer than the 32-foot POLARIS A-3 and is 30,000 pounds heavier. Yet, despite this increase in size the growth potential of the FBM submarines allows POSEIDON missiles to fit into the same 16 missile mount tubes that carry POLARIS.

TRIDENT, the popular name given to the new sea-based, strategic weapon system, stems from Roman mythology.

Using advanced technology in propellants, electronics, and other materials, the TRIDENT-I (C-4) missile will have a much greater range than POSEDON, carrying a full payload to a range of 4,000 nautical miles and a reduced payload to even greater ranges.

Like POSEIDON, each TRIDENT missile will be equipped with MIRV, which will give it a multiple target strike capability.

THE POLARIS 2,500 NAUTICAL (2,880 STATUTE) MILE RANGE OPERATIONAL A-3 MISSILE

The first launching of a POLARIS A-3 missile from a submerged submarine took place on 26 October 1963. The missile was launched from the USS ANDREW JACKSON (SSBN 619) while cruising submerged about 20 miles off Cape Canaveral. The completely successful test was followed by a successful launch of an A-2 missile from the same submarine on 16 November 1963, witnessed by President Kennedy from the USS OBSERVATION ISLAND.

POLARIS A-3 represented a significantly greater technological advance over A-2 than was A-2 over A-1. In terms of hardware design, POLARIS A-3 was approximately an 85% new missile.

The POLARIS A-3 missile became operational on 18 September 1964 when USS DANIEL WEBSTER (SSBN 626) began her initial operational patrol with 16 A-3's aboard.

The increase in range provided by A-3 leaves no land target inaccessible and at the same time gives the submarines an enormous Increase in sea room.

While POLARIS A-3 brings all targets within reach of POLARIS submarines, the effectiveness of the POLARIS system is best measured by the deterrent strength it gives our country.

THE POSEIDON 2,500 NAUTICAL (2,880 STATUTE) MlLE RANGE OPERATIONAL C-3 MISSILE

Towards maximizing the effectiveness of the Navy's Fleet ballistic Missile weapon system as a deterrent to the
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The POSEDON missile will be carried by 31 of the Navy's 41 FBM submarines. (The first 10 IBM submarines to be built including the 5 GEORGE WASHINGTON Class and the 9 ETHAN ALLEN Class. will not be retrofitted to POSEIDON.)

The first launching of a POSEIDON missile from a submerged submarine was successfully conducted on 3 August 1970. The missile was launched from USS JAMES MADISON (SSBN 627) while cruising submerged off the coast of Florida near Cape Canaveral.

The principal contribution of POSEIDON to weapon system effectiveness is its flexibility, which provides a capacity for delivery of multiple warheads, widely spaced, on separate targets over a variety of target footprints. The C-3 missile has a substantially larger diameter and much greater payload capacity.

The POSEIDON C-3 became operational on 31 March 1971, when USS JAMES MADISON (SSBN 627) began her initial operational patrol carrying 16 tactical POSEIDON C-3 missiles.

With MADISON's deployment, the POSEIDON missile was introduced into the nation's arsenal of operational deterrent weapons and brought to successful fruition the development program which was announced in January 1965 as a successor weapon system to POLARIS.

All of the submarines scheduled for retrofit have completed modification of launch tubes and have been outfitted with improved navigation and fire control systems.

Like POLARIS, POSEIDON acts as a deterrent to nuclear aggression, by guaranteeing inexorable nuclear retaliation.

THE TRIDENT-I 4,000 NAUTICAL (4,600 STATUTE) MILE RANGE C4 MISSILE

To offset the increasing strides in Soviet Naval ASW capability, which may in the future present a threat to the sea-based strategic forces, the TRIDENT program has been established to develop and deploy a vastly improved missile carrying nuclear submarine with a new long-range missile to ensure that the U.S. continues to possess a credible deterrent to nuclear war in the 1980's and beyond. The Director, Strategic Systems Projects, has been delegated authority for managing the strategic weapon system (missile and guidance, launcher, navigation. fire control, test instrumentation) and its interfaces

The TRIDENT-I (C-4) missile is a three-stage, solid propellant, inertially guided, submarine-launched fleet ballistic missile. It will have a range greater than the POSEIDON missile, thus providing a several-fold increase in the operational area of the U.S. submarine fleet. The C-4 will be deployed in the new TRIDENT submarine. In addition, one of the design characteristics will be a capability to be back fitted into the existing POSEIDON submarines. The new missile will be equipped with MIRV warheads. The increase in range, without a commensurate increase in the physical dimensions over the C-3 missile has been achieved through several technological advances in the following key areas: propulsion, micro-electronics, and new weight-saving materials. Missile range is controlled by trajectory-shaping with Generalized Energy Management Steering (GEMS).

In addition, TRIDENT-I also uses an extendable "aerospike" to increase its aerodynamic performance. The spike attaches to the front end of the missile and telescopes into position after launch.

The C-4 missile development flight test program commenced on 18 January 1977 when C4X-1 was launched from a flat pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida.