 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 by Richard Tomkins Washington (UPI) Oct 5, 2017
Lockheed Martin and Rockwell Collins are to upgrade a system enabling aircraft to control the ground launch of intercontinental ballistic missiles, the Air Force announced this week. U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command said the two contacts are for three years and worth $81 million each. "The Airborne Launch Control System provides the strategic capability of survivable airborne command and control for the Air Force's fleet of ICBMs," said Col. Scott Jones, ICBM Systems director at the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center. "The new system will be a timely replacement of the legacy system and provide continued ICBM airborne command-and-control capability through 2075." The awards to Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Rockwell Collins begin a design competition for upgrading the nuclear command-and-control mission system, which allows for the launch of ICBMs through commands from Navy's E-6B Mercury aircraft. The Minuteman III and future Ground Based Strategic Deterrent ICBMs require an alternate launch control capability in case of launch interference to ground-based facilities. The current Airborne Launch Control System provides this capability for Minuteman missiles through 1960s-era radio equipment at each of 450 Air Force ICBM launch facilities and on Mercury aircraft. "We are developing a modular system that can be easily upgraded to address new technologies and threats as they emerge," said Maj. Gen. Scott Jansson, commander of the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center and program executive officer for strategic systems. The Air Force said it plans fielding of the new system by 2024.
Russia Conducts Test Launch of RS-24 Yars ICBMPlesetsk (Sputnik) Sep 25, 2017 The RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was test-launched from Russia's Plesetsk space center, the Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday. "On September 20, a test launch of the solid-fuel mobile intercontinental ballistic missile RS-24 Yars equipped with a multiple independently targeted reentry vehicle [MIRV] was conducted from Plesetsk space center by the Yoshkar-Ola m ... read more Related Links Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
Google
