Thirty years ago, a new MX ICBM (LGM-118 Piskiper) was put on alert in the United States. The grouping of these missiles, according to the plan of the American military-political leadership, was to eliminate the superiority that the Soviet Union had by that time received in ground-based strategic missile weapons. As part of the program for creating a new generation of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), the American leadership, among other things, considered the possibility of creating a modification of a new missile system with an air-launched missile.
In particular, during 1966-1967, at the initiative of US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, a grandiose secret conceptual study was carried out without exaggeration on the question of possible promising directions for the development of American strategic nuclear deterrent forces. The grandeur of this study, known as STRAT-X (Strategic-Experimental), can be appreciated if only by the fact that the volume of the final report on its results was 20 volumes. The latter, among other things, contained a recommendation to study the possibility of creating a strategic missile system with an air-launched ballistic missile based on an MX ICBM and a carrier aircraft based on a wide-body airliner, military transport aircraft or bomber.
"ZERO FOURTEEN" - READY
In order to confirm this possibility, tests were carried out of an experimental air launch system as part of a bundle of Minuteman IA ICBMs and a Galaxy C-5A military transport aircraft.
Within the framework of this experimental program, one of the C-5A combat transport aircraft, namely the first C-5A, transferred by the manufacturer in 1971 to the Dover Air Force Base and having the serial number 69-0014, was converted into an intercontinental ballistic rockets. The aircraft, which at the same time received the call sign "zero fourteenth" (Zero-One-Four), was equipped with additional systems for securing ICBMs inside the cargo compartment of the aircraft, parachute landing of ICBMs and control of its launch. The tests were carried out by employees of the Space and Missile Systems Organization (SAMSO) with the involvement of specialists from relevant organizations and took place mainly at the State Parachute Systems Testing Ground in El Centro, California.
The process of preparing for the tests of an air-launched ICBM prototype turned out to be, as can be understood, not easy, since the promising MX intercontinental ballistic missile in the air launch version was supposed to have a launch mass in the range of 22–86 tons (this made it possible to provide it with a flight range of up to 9–10 thousand kilometers). km), its length was supposed to be from 10 m to 22 m, and the diameter of the rocket was about 1, 5-2, 3 m. This was a real challenge to American specialists, since missiles with such weight and size characteristics had never been launched from an air carrier before … By that time, the largest rocket launched from an aerial platform was the American Skybolt with a launch weight of “only” about 5 tons, having a length of 11.66 m and a hull diameter of 0.89 m.
After the re-equipment of the C-5A military transport aircraft allocated by the Air Force command, American specialists first proceeded to test pilot parachutes, and only then from the carrier aircraft parachuting was carried out to parachute reinforced concrete weight simulators (analogs) of intercontinental ballistic missiles, the mass of which, at the same time, was initially 20 t, was gradually brought to the required 38, 7 t. At the same time, as indicated in foreign sources, not everything went smoothly - there were hitch and breakdowns.
After the completion of the testing phase of reinforced concrete weight simulators, American specialists began to drop ICBMs of the Minuteman IA type from the carrier aircraft, which were not equipped with fuel. In total, two such tests were carried out, which were recognized as successful and made it possible to proceed to the next stage of the experimental program, namely, the test with the landing of the rocket, followed by its launch.
This test - Air Mobile Feasibility Demonstration - was the last in the series and was conducted on October 24, 1974. In the course of it, a standard ICBM of the "Minuteman" IA type was used, in which only one was loaded with fuel - the first stage. The rocket was placed inside the cargo compartment of the carrier aircraft on a special drop platform (the mass of the rocket is 31.8 tons, the rocket with the platform is 38.7 tons), while it was oriented with its upper part towards the cargo hatch of the aircraft - the rocket was dropped, thus, was performed "nose first".
The airborne parachute airborne system of the Minuteman IA ICBM was two-domed - the airborne parachutes were attached directly to the platform on which the rocket was located. To orient the missile after dropping in a vertical launch position, three stabilizing parachutes were additionally used, which were attached to the upper (bow) part of the ICBM. All parachutes had the same canopy diameter - 9.76 m. After some time, after the pilot parachutes dropped the rocket on the platform from the cargo compartment of the carrier aircraft, the locks of the ICBM attachment to the platform were triggered, and the rocket was separated from the latter under the action of three stabilizing parachutes (the rocket seemed to "slide" from the platform down and to the side), after which it continued its descent in a vertical position "nose up" until the moment of its launch.
TRIAL
The C-5A carrier aircraft carrying the Minuteman IA rocket took off from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Santa Barbara County, California. On board the aircraft were 13 people, including 2 pilots and 11 test engineers, including specialists from the companies "Lockheed" and "Boeing" (commander of the ship - Rodney Moore). A special "test" aircraft of the A-3 Skywarrior type was used as an escort aircraft, which conducted photography and filming.
The rocket was dropped from the carrier aircraft over the Pacific Ocean, about 25 km west of the Vandenberg base. At the time of the ICBM landing, the carrier aircraft was at an altitude of about 20 thousand feet (about 6 km) and was flying horizontally. One of the test participants, Technician Sergeant Elmer Hardin, in an interview with the Hangar Digest magazine published by the US Air Force Command Museum, recalled the moment when the rocket left the compartment of the carrier aircraft: "I was even thrown a little over the cockpit floor." …
After dropping and separating the platform, the rocket descended vertically, "nose up", to an altitude of about 8 thousand feet (about 2.4 km), after which, in accordance with the test program, the first stage engine was turned on, which worked for about 10 s (according to other data, based on the recollection of one of the test participants, Chief Master Sergeant James Sims, the engine operation lasted 25 s).
During the operation of the first stage engine, the rocket managed to rise to an altitude of about 30 thousand meters.feet (about 9, 1 km), that is, it turned out to be even higher than the echelon on which the C-5A carrier aircraft was located, and after turning off the engine, it fell into the ocean. However, it should be pointed out here that in various foreign sources there are two options indicating the altitude to which the rocket launched in the air could rise: 30 thousand feet and 20 thousand feet. Moreover, the sources in both cases are quite authoritative, including those referring to the participants in that test. Unfortunately, the author has not yet been able to find out which of them is correct. On the other hand, in a report by CNN correspondent Tom Patterson on August 9, 2013, referring to one of the participants in the test on October 24, 1974, Chief Master Sergeant James Sims, it was indicated that the C-5A aircraft with an ICBM on board did not take off from the base. Vandenberg, and from Hilly Air Force Base, Utah.
FROM THE NATIONAL GUARD TO THE MUSEUM
In total, American specialists performed 21 tests within the framework of the experimental program under consideration. Mikhail Arutyunovich Kardashev, in his book Strategic Weapons of the Future, published in 2014 and reprinted this year, indicates that, according to experts, the cost of testing was approximately $ 10 million. US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, writes Mikhail Kardashev. - The tests carried out were planned to be used during the upcoming negotiations on strategic offensive arms as a weighty argument for imposing restrictions on Soviet mobile missile systems. The test participants were awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.
As for the C-5A, which took part in the tests, it is currently on display at the Air Transportation Command Museum located at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. The aircraft, which at that time belonged to the Tennessee Air Force National Guard and was based at the Memphis Air Force Base, was transferred to the museum on October 20, 2013. It is noteworthy that retired pilot Rodney Moore, who took part in the test with the release of the ICBM "Minuteman" IA in 1974 as a ship commander, wished to join the crew of his aircraft during his last flight, but the command did not allow him.
In general, the 1974 tests confirmed the technical and practical feasibility, as well as the safety of launching an ICBM with a starting mass of 31.8 tons from the C-5A military transport aircraft by parachute landing through the rear cargo hatch. As a result, a real opportunity arose after carrying out a set of relevant measures in a relatively short time to create and adopt a strategic missile system with an air-launched intercontinental ballistic missile, in which it was possible to quickly use the available serial military transport aircraft (as carriers) and intercontinental ballistic missiles (as a weapon of war). This made it possible to significantly reduce the financial costs and technical risks that would occur if a new specialized carrier aircraft were developed for such a complex. However, since the tests of air-launched ballistic missiles were prohibited by the SALT-2 and START-1 treaties, this project did not receive further development and lay on the shelf. However, not for long.
NEW ATTEMPT
The Americans tried to place ICBMs of the Minuteman family on an aircraft for the second time already in the 1980s. This time, Boeing specialists, in the framework of studying the possibility of increasing the survival rate of the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles in service with the US Air Force, proposed a variant of an air-launched strategic missile system, which was to include an unmanned aerial vehicle (carrier) and ICBMs type "Minuteman" III (combat vehicle). The project, unveiled in 1980, received the code name Cruise Ballistic Missile, which can be translated from English as "Patrolling ballistic missile".
Briefly, the essence of Boeing's proposal was as follows. A reusable unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with one ICBM on board will be on duty at the land airfield for take-off, which it will perform on command based on a missile attack signal received from the national missile attack warning system. After reaching a predetermined area, such a UAV with an ICBM could patrol in the air at an altitude of about 7 km for up to 12 hours - waiting for a command to launch a rocket or return to a home airfield. The Boeing experts saw the main advantage of such a complex as its almost complete invulnerability from enemy nuclear weapons. It was proposed to deploy a group of up to 250 such "drones" with ICBMs that would have a subsonic flight speed and could land at an airfield, refuel and then take off to continue patrolling.
“If we proceed from the definitions of the terms given in the annex to the START-1 Treaty, the missile in question is not a ballistic missile, since this class includes ballistic missiles, which are launched from a manned aircraft,” says Mikhail Kardashev in the above-mentioned work. "Nevertheless, the technical appearance and operation scheme of the" airborne ICBM "is more similar to the complexes with ballistic missile defense systems than with traditional ground-based ICBMs." At the same time, he especially emphasizes the serious flaw that the project had and which probably did not allow it to go beyond the "paper": the landing strip of the airfield of heavy unmanned aerial vehicles. The creation of a reliable reusable unmanned aircraft carrier of ICBMs was an extremely complex technical task. In the event of a false alarm of the missile attack warning system, a mass takeoff of unmanned vehicles with ICBMs equipped with nuclear charges would be associated with the danger of an accident with serious consequences at any stage of the flight (takeoff, patrolling in the air while waiting for the command, landing at an airfield)."
And in conclusion, we will tell you about another, not particularly known to the general public, an episode from the American program to study the possibility of creating a strategic missile system based on air-based ICBMs.
The fact is that, even despite the existing ban on work in this direction, on October 7, 2005, specialists from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of the US Defense Ministry (DARPA), the US Air Force and other interested departments and organizations carried out in the area of the Edwards Air Force Base, over a desert landfill, a test of dropping a mock launch vehicle known as the Airlaunch or also the QuickReach Booster from the C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft.
The aircraft, hull number 55139, was assigned to the United States Air Force Reserve and was based at March Air Force Base, California. The missile model was dropped from a height of 6 thousand feet (about 1829 m), and the C-12 "Huron" was used as an escort aircraft. The length of the mockup was 65 feet (approx. 19.8 m), and its mass was 50 thousand pounds (approx. 22.67 tons), which was two-thirds of the calculated mass of the launch vehicle.
The model was hollow and filled with water. In contrast to the test with the ICBM "Minuteman" IA in 1974, this time the platform was not used - the rocket was thrown out of the cargo compartment using a single pilot chute and a system of rollers and guides mounted on the floor of the cockpit. Moreover, the landing of the rocket was carried out "nose back", that is, to the plane.
According to the released information, this test was carried out as part of the FSLV (Falcon Small Launch Vehicle) program, jointly implemented by the DARPA agency and the US Air Force, and aimed at developing a system for launching cargo weighing up to 1000 pounds (about 453.6 kg) into low-earth orbit. However, in whose interests the Americans actually conducted such an experiment - whether the military to use ICBMs with an air launch, or civilians to use a non-military launch vehicle in this way - is not entirely clear. In fact, a launch vehicle is the same ballistic missile that, after being modified, can be used for non-peaceful purposes. Officially, in the press release, it was stated at all that in this way "the new capabilities of the C-17 aircraft" were studied.
The persistence of the Pentagon on this issue is still alarming. In addition, on May 14, 2013, specialists from the US Missile Defense Agency and the US Air Force, as well as the Lockheed Martin company, with the participation of US Army specialists and the Orbital Science and Dynetics companies, conducted another similar test. This time, at the Yuma training ground in Arizona, a prototype of a ballistic missile - an extended medium-range ballistic missile (eMRBM), which the Americans decided to use their global anti-missile defense system for better and more efficient training of combat crews and testing systems for the destruction of their global missile defense system.
