USA: "Low-yield nuclear weapon" & "INF Range Ground-launched Missile System"

Wehrtechnik & Rüstung, Sicherheit und Verteidigung außerhalb Europas
theoderich
Beiträge: 20022
Registriert: So 29. Apr 2018, 18:13

Re: USA: "Low-yield nuclear weapon" & "INF Range Ground-launched Missile System"

Beitrag von theoderich »

Army weighs options on extending range of Precision Strike Missile (13. Oktober 2022)
The U.S. Army is still deciding how much farther out it might extend the range requirement for its Precision Strike Missile that is already capable of reaching 499 kilometers (310 miles), according to Col. Rory Crooks, the service’s Long Range Precision Fires Cross-Functional Team lead.

One year ago this month, the Army conducted a long-range flight test of PrSM that is believed to have exceeded the current range requirement of 499 kilometers. The Army has not disclosed the distance it traveled during its Oct. 13, 2021, test at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, but the goal was to see how far the weapon can travel beyond its previous set requirement.

The original intent was to reach a maximum of 499 kilometers, but America’s 2019 withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia has allowed the U.S. Army to develop the missile to fly farther.
The long-range tests taught the Army “that the most promising attribute of PrSM so far has been its growth potential,” Crooks told Defense News in a recent interview. “We have a lot of [science and technology] efforts that are addressing how we can capitalize on this growth potential within the program with respect to [range extension].”

The Army’s Aviation and Missile Center is partnered with industry to extend the range. “They’ve got some very viable designs that we’re exploring right now, so it looks very promising that we’re going to be able to continue to extend beyond 499 [kilometers],” Crooks said.

Having a longer range for PrSM makes the capability “decisive” in both the Indo-Pacific and European theaters, Crooks added. The colonel recently served as chief of staff of V Corps, spending time in Europe with a front-row seat to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“With 499 kilometers ... you could probably interdict almost all the targets you wanted to in [U.S. European Command’s area of responsibility] with those ranges,” Crooks said.

But “to be important or even decisive in [U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s area of responsibility] you have to go beyond that,” he added.” It’s just the tyranny of distance.”

“I don’t think it’s an accident that we have interest from other allies like Australia [and] the U.K., not only to potentially buy these systems, but to actually help us in the science and technology end of it.”
https://www.defensenews.com/digital-sho ... e-missile/
theoderich
Beiträge: 20022
Registriert: So 29. Apr 2018, 18:13

Re: USA: "Low-yield nuclear weapon" & "INF Range Ground-launched Missile System"

Beitrag von theoderich »

National Defense Strategy

https://www.defense.gov/National-Defense-Strategy/
  • 2022 Nuclear Posture Review

    [...]

    In addition, we are cancelling the nuclear-armed Sea-Launched Cruise Missile (SLCM-N) program. The 2018 NPR introduced SLCM-N and the W76-2 to supplement the existing nuclear program of record in order to strengthen deterrence of limited nuclear use in a regional conflict.

    We reassessed the rationale for these capabilities and concluded that the W76-2 currently provides an important means to deter limited nuclear use. Its deterrence value will be re-evaluated as the F-35A and LRSO are fielded, and in light of the security environment and plausible deterrence scenarios we could face in the future. We concluded SLCM-N was no longer necessary given the deterrence contribution of the W76-2, uncertainty regarding whether SLCM-N on its own would provide leverage to negotiate arms control limits on Russia’s NSNW, and the estimated cost of SLCM-N in light of other nuclear modernization programs and defense priorities.
    https://media.defense.gov/2022/Oct/27/2 ... PR-MDR.PDF
theoderich
Beiträge: 20022
Registriert: So 29. Apr 2018, 18:13

Re: USA: "Low-yield nuclear weapon" & "INF Range Ground-launched Missile System"

Beitrag von theoderich »

theoderich hat geschrieben: Mo 19. Aug 2019, 23:58DOD Conducts Ground Launch Cruise Missile Test

Bild
On Sunday, August 18, 2019 at 2:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, the Department of Defense conducted a flight test of a conventionally-configured ground-launched cruise missile at San Nicolas Island, California. The test missile exited its ground mobile launcher and accurately impacted its target after more than 500 kilometers of flight. Data collected and lessons learned from this test will inform the Department of Defense's development of future intermediate-range capabilities.
https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releas ... sile-test/

USMC Demonstrates Long-range Precision Fires Launchers (10. Oktober 2022)
Kelly Flynn, Public Affairs Specialist of the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) Systems Command’s Office of Public Affairs & Communication replied to Naval News and called the white trailer the “Long-Range Fires Launcher (LRF).”
https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/20 ... launchers/


Navy Unveils Truck-Mounted SM-6 Missile Launcher In European Test (Updated) (14. September 2022)
The War Zone has now received a response from U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. Sixth Fleet to our queries for more information about this recent demonstration.

"As with all pieces of military equipment, the U.S. Navy regularly conducts training on all systems in order to ensure maximum readiness to defend ourselves, allies, and partners," Navy Lt. Cmdr. Karl Schonberg, a NAVFOREUR-AF/Sixth Fleet spokesperson, said in a statement. "Rehearsals such as this contribute to U.S. Naval Forces Europe's ability to be ready anywhere at any time should the need arise."

"The modular SM-6 launcher system dramatically increases the U.S. Navy's flexibility to move and employ the launcher in the best interests of the United States and our allies and partners," Schonberg added. "At this time, we cannot speak to the operational scope of the modular SM-6 launcher in the European theater."
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/n ... opean-test

Bild
Bild
U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. Sixth Fleet
14. September

U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. Sixth Fleet personnel conducted convoy protection rehearsals with a U.S. Navy modular SM-6 launcher system within the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) area of responsibility on Sunday.
https://www.facebook.com/USNavalForcesE ... %2CO%2CP-R



https://www.flickr.com/photos/cne-cna-c6f/52361790896/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cne-cna-c6f/52361790906/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cne-cna-c6f/52360846372/


Naval Launchers and Munitions

https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/pr ... tions.html Mk41 Missile Canisters

https://www.baesystems.com/en-media/upl ... 683716.pdf



Die Fotos oben sind möglicherweise in Spanien oder Italien entstanden:

Wetterlage vom 11. September 2022, 12 UTC

Bild
https://www.zamg.ac.at/cms/de/wetter/we ... spStat=yes
theoderich
Beiträge: 20022
Registriert: So 29. Apr 2018, 18:13

Re: USA: "Low-yield nuclear weapon" & "INF Range Ground-launched Missile System"

Beitrag von theoderich »

Army accepts delivery of first prototype MRC battery

Bild
Middle River, MD. – The US Army accepted delivery of the first prototype Mid-Range Capability (MRC) battery. The MRC provides a land-based, ground-launched system with a range between the Army’s Precision Strike Missile and the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon.

Building from existing US Navy missile and launcher systems, the MRC provides a fires capability that has not existed in the US Army since the implementation of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty in 1987.
Initial hardware delivery occurred with ongoing support planned through December 2022 in preparation for training to begin after the holidays. The delivery includes a complete MRC ground equipment and reload capability, which comprises a battery operations center, four launchers, prime movers, and modified trailers.

The MRC achieves operational capability in fiscal year 2023 upon completion of system testing, training, and delivery of the missiles. Delivering the ground hardware first allows the Soldiers to train on the equipment, create doctrine for the system, and develop tactics, techniques, and procedures.
https://www.army.mil/article/262499/arm ... rc_battery
theoderich
Beiträge: 20022
Registriert: So 29. Apr 2018, 18:13

Re: USA: "Low-yield nuclear weapon" & "INF Range Ground-launched Missile System"

Beitrag von theoderich »

FEICKERT Andrew: The U.S. Army’s Mid-Range Capability (MRC) Weapon System

https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF12135

theoderich
Beiträge: 20022
Registriert: So 29. Apr 2018, 18:13

Re: USA: "Low-yield nuclear weapon" & "INF Range Ground-launched Missile System"

Beitrag von theoderich »

Bild
https://twitter.com/LockheedMartin/stat ... 1980602368




FY2024 President’s Budget Highlights
Assistant Secretary of the Army
(Financial Management and Comptroller)

Mid-Range Capability (MRC) ($380M RDTE/$170 MSLS) — Provides Combatant Commanders a long range, ground-mobile, offensive missile capability. Resources support the integration of design requirements to complete and field an initial prototype battery and support fabrication and testing of subsequent prototype batteries. It also resources the fabrication, integration of design requirements, and the test and evaluation for the Mid-Range Capabilities (MRC) Ground Support Equipment (GSE) and to enable completion and fielding of the prototype Battery 2. Procures 58 new BLOCK V Tactical Tomahawk (TACTOMs).
https://www.asafm.army.mil/Portals/72/D ... lights.pdf

PACIFIC DETERRENCE INITIATIVE

Department of Defense Budget
Fiscal Year (FY) 2024

March 2023

Strategic Medium Mid-Range Capability (MRC) - Provides funding for the MRC prototype, consisting of launchers, missiles, and a battery operations center, designed to hit a variety of mid-range targets. This capability will complement other critical systems in the Army’s long-range fires portfolio, providing a combined operational and strategic capability that can attack specific threat
vulnerabilities in order to penetrate, disintegrate and exploit targets in deep maneuver areas critical to the joint fight. The capability also allows the Army and joint service partners to synchronize and leverage modernization efforts and investments across mid-range missile programs in support of multi-domain operations.
https://comptroller.defense.gov/Portals ... iative.pdf


Department of Defense
Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Budget Estimates

March 2023

Air Force
Justification Book Volume 1 of 1
Missile Procurement, Air Force

AGM-158D was originally planned for a Lot 20/FY22 cut-in but has slipped 2 years to Lot 22/FY24 funding year to support joint interoperability requirements. Efforts also include, but are not limited to, production cut-in of alternate communication methods, architectures and waveforms to advance missile capabilities against emerging targets.

FY24 Procurement fully funds the 22nd production lot for the JASSM Program as well as AGM-158D Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP), provides advanced procurement for Lot 23, and Economic Order Quantities for Lots 22-26 under the MYP strategy.
A contract modification to change 100 of the AGM-158B-2 missiles to AGM-158D is projected in August 2025.
https://www.saffm.hq.af.mil/Portals/84/ ... cAig%3D%3D
Zuletzt geändert von theoderich am Mi 26. Jul 2023, 19:35, insgesamt 1-mal geändert.
theoderich
Beiträge: 20022
Registriert: So 29. Apr 2018, 18:13

Re: USA: "Low-yield nuclear weapon" & "INF Range Ground-launched Missile System"

Beitrag von theoderich »

Rocket fuel: US Army expanding ammonium perchlorate sources for artillery
The US Army is in the midst of a massive effort to ramp up its production capacity for artillery, but will still have to contend with supply chains for the fuel that powers the in-demand rockets. Ammonium perchlorate (AP) – an oxidiser used in solid rocket fuels – is a crucial ingredient but can be difficult to source.

The number of approved sources for AP increased in recent years, US Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) spokesperson Jeff Jurgensen told Janes on 17 May. This comes as the demand for rockets in Ukraine has increased, and concerns about the supply chains for energetics materials have risen, experts said.

Earlier there was only one Department of Defense (DoD)-approved source of grade 1 AP (AP1) in the US, according to a report from the DoD Office of Inspector General (DoD IG) published in July 2020. AP1 is used in weapons employed by the army's Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS), for example. DoD IG said AP1 is used in 16 weapons in total across the DoD.
https://www.janes.com/defence-news/land ... -artillery


STATEMENT BY

THE HONORABLE DOUGLAS R. BUSH
ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE ARMY
FOR ACQUISITION, LOGISTICS AND TECHNOLOGY
AND ARMY ACQUISITION EXECUTIVE

AND

GENERAL JAMES E. RAINEY
COMMANDING GENERAL, ARMY FUTURES COMMAND

AND

LIEUTENANT GENERAL ERIK C. PETERSON
DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE ARMY, G-8

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON TACTICAL AIR AND LAND FORCES
COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ON THE FISCAL YEAR 2024
ARMY MODERNIZATION PROGRAM

FIRST SESSION, 118TH CONGRESS

APRIL 26, 2023

  • Long Range Fires Programs:
    • The Army demonstrated the Precision Strike Missile’s (PrSM) capability to achieve ranges well beyond the legacy Army Tactical Missile System and will begin production qualification testing in 4Q FY 2023.
    • We successfully tested the Land Based Anti-Ship Missile seeker and the Extended Range Propulsion ramjet, setting conditions for subsequent increments of the PrSM program.
    [...]
    • We also delivered the Army’s Mid-Range Capability (MRC) initial hardware in 1Q FY 2023 and are on track to deliver the first operational prototype in 4Q FY 2023. The MRC prototype effort leverages existing Service missiles, launchers, software, and hardware to fill a critical capability gap identified by the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
https://armedservices.house.gov/sites/r ... timony.pdf
Zuletzt geändert von theoderich am Mi 28. Jun 2023, 01:11, insgesamt 3-mal geändert.
theoderich
Beiträge: 20022
Registriert: So 29. Apr 2018, 18:13

Re: USA: "Low-yield nuclear weapon" & "INF Range Ground-launched Missile System"

Beitrag von theoderich »

theoderich hat geschrieben: Di 1. Nov 2022, 21:17In addition, we are cancelling the nuclear-armed Sea-Launched Cruise Missile (SLCM-N) program. The 2018 NPR introduced SLCM-N and the W76-2 to supplement the existing nuclear program of record in order to strengthen deterrence of limited nuclear use in a regional conflict.
theoderich hat geschrieben: Di 1. Nov 2022, 21:17We concluded SLCM-N was no longer necessary given the deterrence contribution of the W76-2, uncertainty regarding whether SLCM-N on its own would provide leverage to negotiate arms control limits on Russia’s NSNW, and the estimated cost of SLCM-N in light of other nuclear modernization programs and defense priorities.

GOP moves to instate sea-launched cruise missile nuclear program
House Republicans on Wednesday adopted a measure to institutionalize the sea-launched cruise missile nuclear program, or SLCM-N.

The Armed Services Committee voted along party lines to amend the fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act with a provision that would create a program of record for SLCM-N.
The House’s FY24 defense authorization bill, which the full Armed Services Committee is expected to advance early Thursday morning — paving the way for a full floor vote in July — would provide nearly $196 million for continued SLCM-N development.
https://www.defensenews.com/congress/bu ... r-program/


FY24 NDAA Resources

https://armedservices.house.gov/fy24-ndaa-resources
First Marine Corps Tomahawk Cruise Missile Unit Has Stood Up (7. Juni 2023)
The U.S. Marine Corps has formally activated its first unit that will be equipped with ground-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles. The Marines are currently in the process of determining exactly how this unit will be equipped and employed, but the service expects to have a fully operational Tomahawk-armed battalion before the end of the decade.

Cathy Close, a spokesperson for the Marine Corps' Combat Development and Integration (CD&I) Command, confirmed that this unit stood up earlier this year and provided additional details about it to The War Zone. The initial Long Range Missile (LMSL) battery is officially designated as Battery A, 11th Marine Regiment, and is currently based at Camp Pendleton in California.

Currently, "the first LMSL battery... is working to refine tactics, techniques, and procedures associated with the employment of this unique capability," according to Close. "We expect the [LMSL] battalion to reach full operational capability no later than fiscal year 2030."

Close also explained that the LMSL battalion will have three LMSL batteries, in total. Each of those batteries will have an unspecified number of launchers and other systems.

At present, the Marine Corps expects the LMSL battery's main weapon system to be a version of the same uncrewed 4x4 vehicle the service is also acquiring as a launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile (NSM).
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/f ... s-stood-up
theoderich
Beiträge: 20022
Registriert: So 29. Apr 2018, 18:13

Re: USA: "Low-yield nuclear weapon" & "INF Range Ground-launched Missile System"

Beitrag von theoderich »




RCCTO successfully demonstrates launch from Mid-Range Capability system.

Bild
https://www.army.mil/article/267971
Antworten