(NSI News Source Info) SUNNYVALE, Calif., - July 31, 2009: The U.S. Navy supported the May 26 launch of a U.K. Royal Navy Trident II D5 Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) built by Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT). The unarmed missile was launched from the submerged Royal Navy submarine HMS Victorious (UK SSBN 06) in the Atlantic Ocean. The Trident II D5 missile now has achieved 127 consecutive successful test flights since 1989 – a record unmatched by any other large ballistic missile or space launch vehicle. 
Trident II (D5) missiles are deployed in Ohio- class (Trident) submarines, each carrying 24 missiles. The Trident II (D5) is a three-stage, solid-propellant, inertially guided FBM with a range of more than 4,000 nautical miles (4,600 statute miles). Trident II is more sophisticated than Trident I (C4) with a significantly greater payload capability. All three stages of the Trident II are made of lighter, stronger, stiffer graphite epoxy, whose integrated structure means considerable weight saving. The missile’s range is increased by the aerospike, a telescoping outward extension that reduces frontal drag by about 50 percent. Trident II is launched by the pressure of expanding gas within the launch tube. When the missile attains sufficient distance from the submarine, the first stage motor ignites, the aerospike extends and the boost stage begins. Within about two minutes, after the third stage motor kicks in, the missile is traveling in excess of 20,000 feet (6,096 meters) per second.
“This performance has been achieved in tests conducted by the U.S. Navy and the Royal Navy over the past two decades,” said Melanie A. Sloane, vice president of Fleet Ballistic Missile programs, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, the Trident missile prime contractor. “The cooperation of both governments, supported by industry, provides a credible strategic deterrent.”
The test was part of a Demonstration and Shakedown Operation following an overhaul of the submarine. For the test, a missile was converted into a test configuration using a test missile kit produced by Lockheed Martin that contains range safety devices and flight telemetry instrumentation.
First deployed in 1990, the D5 missile is currently aboard U.S. Navy OHIO-class and Royal Navy VANGUARD-class submarines. The three-stage, solid-propellant, inertial-guided ballistic missile can travel a nominal range of 4,000 nautical miles and carries multiple independently targeted reentry vehicles.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Sunnyvale, Calif., is the prime contractor and program manager for the Trident missile. Lockheed Martin provides program management and engineering services for the United Kingdom’s Trident II D5 Fleet Ballistic Missile program through an annual contract funded by the U.K. Royal Navy, with work performed at facilities in the United States and the United Kingdom. For the period from April 1, 2009, through March 31, 2010, Lockheed Martin has been awarded a contract of $21.3 million contract for United Kingdom technical services in support of the Trident Missile System.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems has been the U.S. Navy’s prime strategic missile contractor since the inception of the program more than 50 years ago. Since 1968, Lockheed Martin has provided program support to the Royal Navy under the terms of the 1963 U.S.-U.K. Polaris Sales Agreement, which was modified in 1982 to provide for the Trident II D5 ballistic missile system.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 146,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2008 sales of $42.7 billion.
Trident II (D5) missiles are deployed in Ohio- class (Trident) submarines, each carrying 24 missiles. The Trident II (D5) is a three-stage, solid-propellant, inertially guided FBM with a range of more than 4,000 nautical miles (4,600 statute miles). Trident II is more sophisticated than Trident I (C4) with a significantly greater payload capability. All three stages of the Trident II are made of lighter, stronger, stiffer graphite epoxy, whose integrated structure means considerable weight saving. The missile’s range is increased by the aerospike, a telescoping outward extension that reduces frontal drag by about 50 percent. Trident II is launched by the pressure of expanding gas within the launch tube. When the missile attains sufficient distance from the submarine, the first stage motor ignites, the aerospike extends and the boost stage begins. Within about two minutes, after the third stage motor kicks in, the missile is traveling in excess of 20,000 feet (6,096 meters) per second.
“This performance has been achieved in tests conducted by the U.S. Navy and the Royal Navy over the past two decades,” said Melanie A. Sloane, vice president of Fleet Ballistic Missile programs, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, the Trident missile prime contractor. “The cooperation of both governments, supported by industry, provides a credible strategic deterrent.”
The test was part of a Demonstration and Shakedown Operation following an overhaul of the submarine. For the test, a missile was converted into a test configuration using a test missile kit produced by Lockheed Martin that contains range safety devices and flight telemetry instrumentation.
First deployed in 1990, the D5 missile is currently aboard U.S. Navy OHIO-class and Royal Navy VANGUARD-class submarines. The three-stage, solid-propellant, inertial-guided ballistic missile can travel a nominal range of 4,000 nautical miles and carries multiple independently targeted reentry vehicles.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Sunnyvale, Calif., is the prime contractor and program manager for the Trident missile. Lockheed Martin provides program management and engineering services for the United Kingdom’s Trident II D5 Fleet Ballistic Missile program through an annual contract funded by the U.K. Royal Navy, with work performed at facilities in the United States and the United Kingdom. For the period from April 1, 2009, through March 31, 2010, Lockheed Martin has been awarded a contract of $21.3 million contract for United Kingdom technical services in support of the Trident Missile System.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems has been the U.S. Navy’s prime strategic missile contractor since the inception of the program more than 50 years ago. Since 1968, Lockheed Martin has provided program support to the Royal Navy under the terms of the 1963 U.S.-U.K. Polaris Sales Agreement, which was modified in 1982 to provide for the Trident II D5 ballistic missile system.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 146,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2008 sales of $42.7 billion.
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