Americans avoid contact combatThe US missile program began to develop very rapidly after World War II as a result of the seizure by the Americans of a group of German designers led by Werner von Braun and samples of the V-1 and V-2 missiles they created.
In the future, the importance of missile weapons for the US military was rapidly increasing, since it was these weapons that made it possible to ensure the remote defeat of the enemy and avoid contact combat with him.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF REACTIVE SYSTEMSSince the American missile program was based on German developments, the V-1 (V-1) can be considered the progenitor of all cruise missiles, and the V-2 (V-2) is the progenitor of all ballistic missiles of the US Armed Forces.
The Americans were going to use the Lun cruise missile (a complete copy of the V-1) against Japan, but it capitulated before the missiles were ready for use. Then, the US Air Force received ground-based cruise missiles MGM-1 "Matador" with a nuclear warhead and a firing range of 1 thousand km, and MGM-13 "Mace", also in nuclear equipment and with a range of up to 2.4 thousand km.
For the US Navy, a sea-based cruise missile (KRMB) Regulus was created based on the V-1, which could be launched both from submarines (but only from a surface position) and from surface ships. The missile carried a nuclear warhead, the firing range reached 900 km. In the mid-1960s and early 1970s, all these missiles were decommissioned in favor of ballistic missiles (BR).
The unguided ballistic missile "Onest John" with a flight range from 25 to 45 km began to enter service with the US Army in 1953. It could carry both nuclear and conventional warheads. The army-operated BRS were MGM-5 "Corporal" (carried a nuclear warhead at a range of up to 130 km), MGM-29 "Sergeant" (could be used in conventional equipment), MGM-52 "Lance" (could carry a conventional warhead at a range of 70-80 km or nuclear at 110-120 km).
Almost all of the missiles listed above, both cruise and ballistic, were used as targets for US air and missile defense after decommissioning.
The MGM-31A Pershing-1A had the longest range among the US Army BRS – 740 km. She carried a nuclear warhead. It has been in service since the late 1960s, in the early 1990s it was destroyed under the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF).
At the end of the 1950s, two medium-range nuclear ballistic missiles (BRSD; range – 2400 km) were created in the USA: PGM-17 "Tor" for the Air Force and the army PGM-19 "Jupiter". Their deployment in Europe was the most important cause of the Caribbean crisis (the Soviet Union deployed missiles similar in purpose in Cuba). After the withdrawal of Soviet missiles from Cuba, both the Torahs and the Jupiters were decommissioned.
One of the reasons for the rejection of these missiles (except for the "exchange" with the USSR) was the adoption of much more advanced ballistic missiles of the Polaris submarines (SLBMs), which were stationed on 41 American and four British nuclear submarines (SSBMS) (16 SLBMs each). In total, 509 Polaris A1/2 monoblock SLBMs were produced (flight range – 2.2–2.8 thousand km), and then 644 Polaris A3 (including 133 for the UK) with a range of 4,600 km and three 200-kt warheads.
The Poseidon SLBM could carry up to 10 nuclear warheads of 50 kt each. 619 of them were produced, they replaced the "Polaris" with 31 American SSBMS. All these SSBMS (of which 12 still managed to be re-equipped with Trident-1) and both types of SLBMs were eliminated in the late 1980s – early 1990s in accordance with the Strategic Offensive Arms Treaties (START).
In the late 1950s, the first nuclear monoblock intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) "Atlas" (range - 10.2 thousand km) entered service with the US Air Force. By the mid-1960s, they had been decommissioned and converted into launch vehicles for space launches. Instead, LGM-25 Titan ICBMs with a flight range of 15 thousand km and a warhead with a capacity of 9 MT were adopted. They were decommissioned in the mid-1980s, some were also used as a launch vehicle, the rest were destroyed as part of the START.
After that, the main land-based ICBMs became "Minutemen". The LGM-30A/V Minuteman-1 and LGM-30F Minuteman-2 ICBMs had a range of 9-11 thousand km and carried a megaton-class nuclear warhead. The circular probable deviation (CVO), as with previous ICBMs, was 1-3 km. Approximately 930 Minutemen-1s were produced (385 of them were used in test launches) and 668 Minutemen-2s (189 were used). These ICBMs were decommissioned as part of the START. At the same time, attempts were made in the United States to use the first stages of the Minutemen-2 to create missile defense systems.
In 1970, the LGM-30G "Minuteman-3" entered service, the flight range was increased to 13 thousand km, the CVO did not exceed 500 m, the missile carried three nuclear warheads (170-475 kt). 830 Minutemen-3s were produced, of which approximately 300 were spent in test launches. Currently, only this ICBM remains in service.
In the 1950s, the first anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) with a cumulative warhead appeared. The United States lagged behind in the development of such missiles for a long time and had to use French ATGMs.
It was only in the 1960s that the American BGM-71 "Tow" anti-tank missile system was created (TOW – Tube-launched Optically-tracked Wire-guided, that is, the guidance of the ATGM is optical semi-automatic, carried out by wires). The firing range is from 65 to 3750 m.
ATGM "Tow" has gone through many upgrades. Starting with the variant BGM-71E "Tou-2A" ATGM of this type has a tandem warhead for penetration of active and/or spaced armor. ATGM has been used in many wars, the total number of ATGM produced has a chance to reach 1 million. In addition to a portable launcher (PU), it can be placed on jeeps, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, helicopters. In a number of countries, "Tou" were produced under license, in Iran they are produced without a license (under the name "Tufan").
Almost simultaneously with the Tow, the FGM-77 Dragon ATGM was adopted with a similar guidance system, but with a shorter firing range (up to 1 km).
NEW TRENDSIn the early 1980s, the US Armed Forces received long-range cruise missiles with a TERCOM guidance system (based on pre-laid digital terrain maps), which in later modifications was supplemented with correction based on GPS navigation system signals.
These missiles are capable of flying to the target at an extremely low altitude (with a terrain envelope), have an extremely low effective scattering area (ESR). The combination of these two factors makes it extremely difficult for the enemy's air defense to detect cruise missiles, and the long flight range provides almost complete safety for their carriers. The main disadvantage of these missiles is the subsonic flight speed: they need to fly for two to three hours at the maximum range. At the same time, the missiles have no means of countering air defense, except for low visibility.
The BGM-109 Tomahawk became a sea- and land-based missile. It has a flight range of 2.4 thousand km in the nuclear version, 1.2 thousand km in conventional equipment. Up to 560 land-based BGM-109G "Griffin" nuclear missiles were launched, all of them were eliminated under the INF Treaty.
Tomahawk missile launchers launched from nuclear submarines, cruisers and destroyers were originally created in three versions: A – in nuclear equipment; B (aka TSAM) – anti–ship missile (RCC) (active radar guidance, flight range - 450 km); C (aka TLAM) – with conventional Warhead for hitting ground targets. In total, about 4 thousand BGM-109A/V/S were produced.
Later, the BGM-109D CRMB with a cassette warhead appeared. Almost all CRMB variants A and B have been converted to C and D.
At the beginning of the XXI century, the BGM-109E Tactical Tomahawk, of which more than 4 thousand units have already been produced, entered service. About 200 Tomahawks, including 65 Tactical Tomahawks, were received by the British Navy. During various military campaigns, at least 2.3 thousand Tomahawks were spent. It is these KRMB, and not carrier aircraft, that are now the main striking force of the American fleet.
In addition to the operational-tactical missiles (OTR) Pershing-1A and the BGM-109G Gryphon, the MGM-31C Pershing-2 nuclear BRSD became the "victim" of the INF Treaty. It had a flight range of about 1.8 thousand km and very high accuracy (CVO of only 30 m). 384 such missiles were produced.
After their elimination, the only American non-strategic ground-based ballistic missile remains the MGM-140 ATASMS, adopted in the early 1990s (replaced the Lance). It carries a cluster warhead at a range of 150-300 km, the missile guidance is corrected by GPS. The PU for this missile are multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) M270 MLRS (one or two ATACMS per PU) or M142 HIMARS (one ATACMS per PU).
The most modern American ICBM was the LGM-118A "Peacemaker", better known as the MX. It was adopted in the late 1980s, carried up to 10 warheads of 300 kt at a range of 9.6 thousand km, while the CVO did not exceed 90 m. 114 such ICBMs were released, at least 51 ICBMs were used up in test launches. According to the START-2 treaty, this ICBM was decommissioned, its warheads were partially rearranged to the Minutemen-3. The rockets themselves are being converted into Minotaur space launch vehicles.
The basis of the US Nuclear Deterrence Forces (SNF) is still made up of SLBMs and their nuclear warheads. UGM-96 Trident-1 carried six warheads of 100 kt at a range of 7.4 thousand km. It was installed on 12 early-series SSBMS, as well as on the first eight Ohio-type SSBMS (24 SLBMs on each SSB). 595 SLBMs were produced, of which 168 were used in test launches.
At the beginning of the XXI century, they were completely replaced by the UGM-133A Trident-2 SLBMs, which began to enter service with the Ohio-type SSBMS from the early 1990s. This SLBM is capable of carrying from 8 to 14 nuclear warheads with a CVO of no more than 120 m, a flight range of up to 11.3 thousand km. At least 857 Tridents-2 were manufactured, including 72 for the UK. At least 186 SLBMs were used up during test launches.
Since the Strategic Nuclear Forces are not applicable in conventional wars, non-nuclear missile weapons are being actively improved in the United States. At the same time, the main trend of its development was the maximum increase in accuracy, which should ensure the defeat of the target with the first ammunition.
Such weapons have been widely used already during Operation Desert Storm (" Dictator's Paralysis ", "HBO" from 05.03.21), and since the intervention in Iraq in 2003 (" Why the United States lost the war in Iraq ", "HBO" from 16.03.18), the United States, in fact, has been using only high-precision weapons.
An example of a ground-based high-precision weapon is the FGM-148 Javelin ATGM with an infrared homing head (GOS), which was adopted in the mid-1990s. It has a tandem cumulative warhead, after launching it makes a "slide" and hits the target in the less protected upper hemisphere. The firing range is up to 3 km. It is actively used by the Ukrainian army against the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, but the Javelins did not become a "miracle weapon".
THE NEAR FUTUREDue to the fact that the US Armed Forces are reorienting from the "fight against international terrorism" to the fight against equal opponents, the importance of missile weapons for them will increase even more.
Long-range missiles of various classes will be actively developed to ensure the suppression and/or overcoming of powerful air defense and defeat a wide range of targets, including the most complex.
Work is underway on the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) program to create an OTR with a range of up to 700 km to replace ATASMS. Moreover, these new missiles should be placed twice as many on the PU, that is, four on the M270 and two on HIMARS.
A universal hypersonic missile can become a C-HGB with a range of 2-4 thousand km. It will be used as a payload of the ground-based Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) system, the battery of this system will include four PU, two BRSD on each. Perhaps this system will also be created in a marine version for nuclear submarines of the Virginia type. The fate of several more promising missile projects of the US Armed Forces is still unclear.
Alexander KhramchikhinAlexander Anatolyevich Khramchikhin is an independent military expert.
