Posted on 07/08/2010 4:02:47 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
As the venerable Tomahawk missile becomes too vulnerable for certain targets, naval observers have wondered why the Navy isn’t racing to fill the U.S. surface fleet’s 7,804 Vertical Launch System (VLS) cells with a new generation of anti-ship or fast land-attack munitions.
Our wait is over. The big brains at DARPA are aiming to appropriate VLS cells for the Prompt Global Strike Mission.
Meet ArcLight–the weapon that will change the way the world thinks about U.S. surface combatants:
“The ArcLight program will design, build, and flight test a long range (> 2,000 nm) vehicle that carries a 100–200 lb payload(s). ArcLight is based on an SM-3 Block II booster stack, a hypersonic glider and is capable of being launched from a Mark 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) tube. The development of the ArcLight system will enable high speed, long range weapons capable of engaging time critical targets and can be launched from Naval surface and sub-surface assets, and Naval/Air Force air assets.”
Enlisting VLS cells for the Prompt Global Strike (PGS) Mission would be a boon to PGS advocates. First, by decoupling PGS from conventional ballistic missile platforms (the assumed primary delivery system for PGS), Congressional concerns that certain countries might misinterpret a PGS hit as a nuclear strike evaporate–and with Congress aboard, the funding that has crimped PGS development will, assuredly, open.
This development also may resonate with Acting Navy Secretary Robert Work (ok, ok, he’s still Undersecretary of the Navy…for now). Undersecretary Work has long preached the virtues of America’s VLS-equipped surface fleet, and any prospect of leveraging new technologies for the old launch system will spark the Undersecretary’s interest.
(Excerpt) Read more at defensetech.org ...
Ping
How is this progress?
” 100–200 lb payload “
2000mn range to deliver a love-tap???
Either the reporter is missing a couple of zeros, or DARPA has its head up its a$$ as far as the rest of the Pentagon....
13,000 mph baby
it’ll take one hell of a hard hat to bounce that off:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military/4203874
“It could be a real game changer, a 100 - 200lb payload traveling at hypersonic speeds (M>5) could impart unbelievable amounts of Kinetic Energy (think GigaJoules). They'll most likely equip it with varying payloads based on the target set (flechette warheads, penetrators, unitary warhead, etc.).”
But, what if it doesn’t deliver the big bang?
What if it delivers EMP/Kenetic weapons to clear the way for some heavy lifters?
Kinetic weapons(Rods from God) would be my personal choice.In the 1950s we had a program called Project Thor that would have developed an orbital weapon system. What was nice about the system that it was legal under the Outer Space Treaty and SALT II. But the Air Force stopped development. With the speed it travels, it will deliver the warhead. With GPS, Global Strike will hit any target anywhere.
I would like to see some enemy demonstration targets aka Hiroshima, Nagasaki. Back in the 40’s a little demonstration was in order to make our potential enemies shake in their boots. It’s way past time for a reprise of that mindset.
We need something that can be hidden in shipping containers.
Like the Russians Club-K missile system
DARPA also has a program called TEMP (Tactical Expandable Maritime Platform).
I wrote a good part of a proposal for the program for my company; keeping my fingers crossed, should hear in August or September if we won an award.
The DARPA Industry Day slides (unclassifed, approved for public release) are here (warning - a HUGE 13.4 MB PowerPoint, for those with slow connections):
https://www.fbo.gov/utils/view?id=0a698a6419ba49e28482a26856338797
From the first slide:
-A Suite of Modular Technologies that Convert a Commercial Container Ship into a Credible Military Platform
-Meets or exceeds grey hull focused mission capability
-or, delivers fundamentally new capability to the Fleet
-Operates from an unmodified commercial container ship
-Brings all required capabilities in standardized ISO containers
-Embarks modules and goes to sea in 1 day or less
-Conducts mission operations for at least 30 days
"Time-Critical Target" also can mean essentially a personal assassination weapon.
Think of it as a sniper rifle with 2,000nm range.
W58/W72(23kg) 10-600 ton yield fitted to the AGM 62 is 12.5in in diameter
Or a W33 (110kg) 500ton-40KT which is 8in in diameter we destroyed Hiroshima with 13.5KT and Nagasaki with 15.2Kt for reference.
Mind you that these are total weights for the whole weapon system not the physics package as these were artillery shells most of the weight was in the shell casing needed to survive gun launch. A 2-point implosion device needs only 13kg of PU239 to achieve supercritical mass at that point tritium boosting can bring yields into the 10's of KT
While this is designed to be a conventional weapon system as with most conventional weapons if it will take 20-40kg to the target and is bigger than 5 inches around you can put a tactical nuke in it, this is what scares the willikers out of the leftists dove's & chicoms when you have 7000+ nuclear capable 2000 mile launch vehicles scattered around the planet no one anywhere is beyond our reach these make superb first strike weapons even with only conventional bunker buster type warheads with M-code GPS a sub 3meter CEP is plenty good to kill icbm silos and with a seeker based terminal guidance system mobile icbms are toast to, the boost glide profile is hard to hit with interceptors as any mach 6+ vehicle has the advantage in speed and G range, in the 80&'s we tested the MK500 evader at 100's in the boostglide mode still even at 300,000 feet without space based IR sensors queing a Thaad type system for warning the enemy will have only minutes from the time the radar horizon is crossed assuming no plasma based radar stelth or RAM coating is used to make they BGV stealthy the enemy has little chance of intercept this a game changer globally.
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