THAAD to deploy to South Korea

The US Army has deployed THAADs to Guam for the past three years, in response to a possible North Korean BM-25 Musudan Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles capability to target the island. South Korea where 28,500 US troops are stationed is much closer to North Korea and the THAAD systems are more likely to be needed there.

The Missile defense Agency is strengthening the 1st and 2nd THAAD batteries to the full six-launcher configuration. Photo: Lockheed Martin

The US Army has allocated its Continental-US (CONUS) Based THAAD to deploy to South Korea on emergency situations, a South Korean military source confirmed Sunday.
THAAD systems are able to deploy from their base at Ft. Bliss, Texas, US within hours, using C-17 Globemaster III military transport planes.

The first to deploy overseas was Alpha battery, that demonstrated its rapid deployment capability in 2013, as it deployed to Guan in response to a possible North Korean BM-25 Musudan Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles capability to target the island.
South Korea, where 28,500 US troops are stationed is much closer to North Korea and the THAAD systems are more likely to be needed there. However, South Korea is objecting to permanent deployment of these missiles on its soil, fearing escalation with China. The Korean ambiguity on this matter, and the temporary deployment of the THAAD will not enable full integration with Seoul’s own missile defense system, KAMD.
South Korea also opposes the permanent deployment of US AN/TPY-2, an early missile warning radar system that detects missiles up to 2,000 kilometers away, which would include China’s military facilities. “Our military has our own missile warning system, the Green Pine, which has a range of 600 km, so we don’t need AN/TPY-2,” a source within the South Korean government said.

Eurosatory 2014 Military Demo's

Some of the highlights from the impressive dynamic demonstration held today at Eurosatory 2014 included armored vehicles, unmanned systems, logistics support systems, and specialized systems and equipment for law enforcement and riot dispersal

Among the highlights from the dynamic demonstration held today at Eurosatory 2014 included the Infotron IT 180 unmanned rotorcraft deploying a Cobra Mk2 UGV, both unmanned vehicles are provided by the French robotics company ECA Robotics. The IT180 can lift five kilograms of payloads, which is about the weight of the Cobra. Photo: Tamir Eshel

The Thales Group displayed the Hawkei Light Protected Mobility Vehicle weighing 10 tons. Hawkei delivers unparalleled levels of blast and ballistic protection, for a helicopter transportable vehicle. Photo: Tamir Eshel

Renault Defense Trucks demonstrated a number of vehicles, including the 20 ton VAB Mk III 6×6 armoured personnel carrier offering NATO Level 4 protection, anti-blast and IED protection. Photo: Tamir Eshel

The Thales Group displayed the Hawkei Light Protected Mobility Vehicle weighing 10 tons, while Renault Defense Trucks demonstrated a number of vehicles, including the 20 ton VAB Mk III 6×6 armoured personnel carrier offering NATO Level 4 protection, anti-blast and IED protection. Another vehicle from Renault is ALTV, a lightweight 4×4 platform developed by ACMAT.

anti-blast and IED protection. Another vehicle from Renault is ALTV, a lightweight 4×4 platform developed by ACMAT. Photo: Tamir Eshel

Two unmanned vehicles were demonstrated here for the first time, the Terramax from Oshkosh, is an M-ATV rigged with the Terramax autonomy kit, enabling the vehicle to demonstrate a route clearing mission performed by standard military vehicles such as the M-ATV armoured vehicle and MTVR medium trucks, equipped to carry out autonomous unmanned missions. The Terramax was demonstrated here pushing a mine roller. Photo: Tamir Eshel

The VERA robotic kit installed on an EAGLE IV armored vehicle from GD ELS. Photo: Tamir Eshel

Other vehicle demonstrated here is the LMV from Iveco, configured to carry out CBRN reconnaissance missions. Photo: Tamir Eshel

The eight wheel ARGO all terrain vehicle mounting a Paradigm SRP remotely operated weapon station fitted with the PEARL gunshot detection system from Metravib. Photo: Tamir Eshel

Lockheed Martin Unveils the Vector Hawk

Vector Hawk can be stored in a folded position and be launched instantly from a launching tube, requiring no assembly. Designed for low cost, a scaled version of Arrow hawk could be considered also for expendable operations as well. Photo: Tamir Eshel, Defense-Update

This is a fixed wing variant of the Vector hawk. Lockheed martin is also offering a tube-launched (collapsible wing) version of the micro-drone. Photo: Lockheed Martin.

Lockheed Martin unveiled today a family of small unmanned aerial vehicle, part of the line of Small UAS line. The mini-drone dubbed ‘Vector Hawk’ was unveiled at the AUVSI 2014 convention in Orlando, Florida. “Vector Hawk addresses a broad set of unique missions and operating needs within a single system” Steve Fortson, business development manager for Lockheed Martin explained.
The system was designed as an affordable and modular platform, that can be configured as a quadrotor, tilt-rotor or standard propeller driven platform. “The Vector Hawk can be field-reconfigured to multiple missions including fixed-wing, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), and tilt-rotor enabling VTOL with transition to fixed wing flight. Our fixed wing variants may be hand or tube launched, while VTOL and tilt-rotor variants may be launched from land or land on water” Fortson added. “With a gross takeoff weight of only four pounds and a vertical profile of only four inches, Vector Hawk can carry 0.75 pound (340 gr. of payload boasts best-in-class payload capacity, speed and endurance.” Fortson said.
“As a waterproof system Vector Hawk can operate in harsh weather conditions and at sea” Fortson said, the drone can sustain winds up to 45 knots, fly in rain and heavy snow or land on water. According to Fortson, the different configurations share common payloads and key performance, but some specific performance characteristics vary according to missions. For example, the fixed wing variant has a cruising speed of 30 knots and dash speed of 70 knots, its mission can be extended up to 150 minutes using primary cells, or 90 minutes using rechargeable liPO batteries. The tilt rotor variant will be more flexible, capable of 50 kt dashes, it will be able to slow down to hover speed, or fly inverted, to inspect underneath bridges, on missions lasting up-to 80 minutes. The quad-rotor variant can dash at 70 knots speed but will be able to operate for only 45 minutes.
Vector Hawk features fully autonomous flight, landing and fail-safes. It is inaudible at operational slant ranges. The data link features a high bandwidth software defined radio, mesh networking (including 3G, 4G, and LTE cellular), over-the-air reconfiguration, and is capable of employing a variety of waveforms.

Steve Fortson, business development manager for Lockheed Martin shows the new Vector Hawk from Lockheed Martin. Photo: Tamir Eshel, Defense-Update

US, Yemen Launch Large Scale Attack against AQAP Terrorist sites in Yemen!

Four attacks by CIA drones are believed to have targeted AQAP training camp in Yemen, killing over 30

A large number of al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula (AQAP) militants were killed when a series of air strikes has hit their training camp in a remote mountainous region of southern Yemen on Saturday and Sunday, April 19-20, 2014 – the Yemeni defense ministry said. AQAP has been regarded by Washington as the jihadist network’s most dangerous affiliate. The attacks are likely targeting Al Qaeda number two Nasir al-Wuhayshi, deliberately exposed in a recent video taken at a large gathering of terrorists in Southern Yemen.  
The operation targeting al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is under way in Abyan and Shabwa, Yemen, a high-level Yemeni government official who is being briefed on the strikes told CNN on Monday (see video below). The Yemeni official described the attacks as “massive and unprecedented”, confirming at least 30 militants have been killed. The operation involved Yemeni commandos who are now “going after high-level AQAP targets,” the official said.
According to unofficial reports the April 20 attack comprised at least three separate strikes that were directed at a terrorist training camp in al-Mahfad, killing up to 25. On the 19 April attack ten AQAP personnel and three civilians were also killed on another drone attack; intelligence report said they were planning attacks on civil and military targets in al-Bayda province, in southern Yemen.

The locations of air strikes (yellow) and drone strikes (grey) in Yemen. Radius indicates the number of killed. The red mark is the position of the Yemeni Air Force Base at Al Anad, allegedly providing the forward operation base for those operations. It is also believed that since the introduction of MQ-9 Reaper drones, at least part of the activity has moved to the more desolate Um El-Melh border guard new airbase base built near the Saudi-Arabian-Yemeni border, about 900 km north-east of Al Anad. Source: New America Foundation.

Drone attacks in Yemen have killed about 40 people in Yemen since January 2014. While US drone activity in Yemen can be dated back to 2002, the attacks have been intensified since 2012, as the CIA increased its pressure on the Yemen-based AQAP. Yemen is among a handful of countries where the United States acknowledges using drones, but it does not comment on the practice. The CIA is believed to be operating drones from two main bases in the area, the Yemeni military air base at Al Anad, in Southern Yemen and the Saudi border guard airbase at Um El Melh guarding the southern border of the desert kingdom’s ‘empty quarter’ – Rub al Khali. This base is belived to have been operational since 2013. While aerial images of Al Anad do not indicate special facilities for drones, images from Um El-Melh show massive buildup of ground facilities for a base that can operate numerous drones of various sizes.

Umm Al Melh Border Guards Airport (click for a larger size)

The drone campaign in Yemen is managed by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) since 2002. The momentum of this campaign increased since 2011, particularly as the Obama administration began using drones to support the Yemeni government’s battles against al-Qaeda-linked militants in 2012. Without ‘boots on the ground’, this campaign suffered relatively high rate of ‘collateral damage’ (unintended civilian casualties) but this ration has dropped significantly in recent years (except in 2012 when 11 civilians were killed on their way to a wedding).
AQAP has also directed its attacks on civilian and military targets of the Yemeni regime as well as targets thought to be related to US operatives. In a recent attack in December 2013 a car bomb exploded inside a hospital in the capital city Sana, killing 52 people. The Mujahedeen  claimed the attack was directed against an operations center controlling the drones attack in the country however, the US denied there were any American victims at the site.
AQAP has been growing in Yemen despite the U.S. CIA and government efforts to rout the terrorist groups from the country. In February 2014 AQAP conducted a suicide attack on the central prison in the Yemeni capital of Sana’a. The attack involved suicide bombers and an assault team that penetrated the facility and freed 29 prisoners, among them 19 AQAP operatives, the Long War Journal reported.

The terrorists freed during the February raid were greeted by al-Qaeda’s number two in command, Nasir al-Wuhayshi, appearing in a video aired recently on Youtube. The 15-minute video, posted on YouTube by the Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium (TRAC).

US NAVY CARRIER DRONES

Following almost a year of delay, and gathering more confidence with drone operations from carriers, the US Navy is moving forward with Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) - the future carrier operated drones

The X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS-D) completes preparations for launching aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). Theodore Roosevelt is the third carrier to test the tailless, unmanned autonomous aircraft’s ability to integrate with the carrier environment. The future UCLASS will be optimized to operate with the new Ford Class carrier (CVN-78) fitted with electrically rather the conventional steam powered catapult, enabling safe handling of lighter aircraft. (U.S. Navy photo by Heath Zeigler)

The four candidate designs considered for UCLASS depicted in this image published by the US Naval Institute (USNI)

Future drone attacks could be more pervasive and less constrained by access permissions and host country support, once the US Navy goal to integrate unmanned systems capabilities on board its aircraft carriers is fulfilled. Current operations, conducted by the CIA and Air Force from land-based sites are constrained to the availability, permission and security provided by host nations, bases that should be located relatively close to the target and, hence, may compromise operational security and operator safety. New generations of drones to be operated by the US Navy from aircraft carriers could introduce a new capability, unbound by those restrictions.
Following a year-long delay the U.S. Navy released a draft request for proposal (RFP) for the Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) aircraft on April 17, 2014. The draft release was delayed due to disagreements within the Navy, about the technical specifications for the future unmanned aircraft. The final RFP is expected later this year. The new carrier-operated drone is scheduled to enter service in the early 2021.
Four prime contractors are participating in the competition – General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. All four have already been contracted to carry out preliminary studies of a UCLASS type drone and are likely to submit their proposals for the final design. The current draft RFP calls bidders to submit proposals for design, development, assembly, delivery, testing and integration of the air vehicles segment of the UCLASS system. Other elements are likely to include sensors, datalinks, command and control systems.
The US Navy made history last year when the X-47B became the first unmanned air vehicle to launch off the CVN-77 George W. Bush aircraft carrier’s catapult and perform an arresting gear landing. In those cases the X-47B was alone on the carrier. Moving forward, the Navy plans to continue testing the unmanned drone operating as part of a carrier air group. These flights are scheduled to take place in the Atlantic Ocean this summer, aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71).

UCLASS will be a key Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) asset for future carrier air groups, enabling each carrier of the CVN-78 Ford class to support two continuous ISR orbits at “tactically significant ranges” over uncontested airspace.

In preparation for these flights an X-47B carried out its first night flight at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. The flights planned for this summer will be carefully scripted to measure and account for any variables. The Navy will initially focus on low-tempo operations but could sometime in 2015 intensify the tempo if there is funding and an available aircraft carrier. Aircraft carrier are normally operating on operational cycles of 12 hours each, and all future unmanned assets would be required to align to these operational tempo.
The UCLASS will benefit from lessons learned through these evaluations. According to Rear Adm. Mat Winter, NAVAIR’s program executive officer for unmanned aviation and strike weapons, UCLASS will be a key Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) asset for future carrier air groups, enabling each carrier of the CVN-78 Ford class to support two continuous ISR orbits at “tactically significant ranges” over uncontested airspace. The aircraft would have some stealth capabilities to enable it to operate in ‘lightly contested’ areas.
The Navy has budgeted the UCLASS capability at a $150 million per orbit. Assuming that two air vehicles can cover one orbit (if that aircraft is capable of flying for 14 hours), that means the maximum price point for a UCLASS air vehicle is about $75 million, USNI said, quoting industry sources. According to preliminary specifications released in June 2013 the goal for UCLASS was to conduct two unrefueled orbits at 600 nautical miles (1,111 km) or one unrefueled orbit at 1,200 nautical miles (2,222 km).
UCLASS drones will also have moderate stealth characteristics and internal payload carrying capacity to conduct light strike missions to eliminate targets of opportunity. Additional roles for the UCLASS could also be aerial refueling, albeit, given their limited payload capacity, such missions could be relevant primarily for other UAS.
The original spec called for a minimum payload capacity of 3,000-pound (1,360 kg), to include electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) surveillance and signals intelligence capability similar to the current MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9B Reaper. The Navy would also like to have a modular radar payload to include synthetic aperture radar and moving target indicator (SAR/GMTI) as well as maritime area search radar capability. In addition, the aircraft will be able to carry 1,000 lbs (454 kg) of external load, primarily weapons.

An X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator prepares to launch from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). George H.W. Bush was the first aircraft carrier to successfully catapult launch an unmanned aircraft from its flight deck. (U.S. Navy photo by Brian Read Castillo)

Part of the Demonstrator Unmanned Combat Air System - Demonstrator (UCAS-D) testing was to demonstrate how an unmanned aircraft can operate within the crowded and complex carrier environment. In this photo the Northrop Grumman X-47B is seen towed into the hangar bay on board the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) which was one of three carriers that participated in the evaluation. Key design parameters of the UCLASS program will be based on the lessons learned through the UCAS-D evaluations. (U.S. Navy photo by Timothy Walter)

Introducing HAMMER Precision Targeting System

BAE Systems HAMMER precision targeting system successfully completes Critical Design Review for the U.S. Army’s JETS program. Photo: BAE Systems

BAE Systems has completed the U.S. Army’s Critical Design Review for its HAMMER precision targeting system, one of two candidates for the Army’s the Joint Effects Targeting System (JETS) program’s Target Location Designation System (TLDS) system. JETS is an Army-led, joint-interest program with the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marine Corps.

Current systems are too heavy, lack the capability to deliver precision fire support in day and at night and do not interface easily with modern, digital radios.

Systems delivered as part of the JETS program will provide the dismounted Forward Observer and Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) the ability to acquire, locate and mark for precision Global Positioning System-guided and laser-guided munitions. The TLDS component of this system will provide the dismounted Forward Observer with a common and light-weight handheld precision targeting capability.
Current systems are too heavy or lack the capability to deliver precision fire support in day and at night. Current systems are also lacking efficient interface with modern digital communications, to receive, transmit, store, display, plan, and coordinate targeting data.
The system enables dismounted observers to rapidly identify, precisely locate, and accurately mark targets for precision strike. It works in all weather and lighting conditions, and transmits targeting data to existing forward entry systems. The new targeting system will help soldiers distinguish friends from foes with satellite positioning and surveillance information, and allow them to rapidly receive, transmit, and coordinate targeting data.
In April 2013 the Army awarded two contracts to BAE Systems and DRS. Each company received about $15 million cost-plus-fixed-fee for a three-year engineering and manufacturing development (E&MD) contract to supply prototypes that will meet the JETS TLDS requirements. In the next phase the systems will go through the program’s qualification phase, in which several systems will be manufactured and tested against JETS technical requirements throughout 2014 and early 2015. The program remains on schedule for initial JETS TLDS fielding in 2016.

“HAMMER will provide forward observers and JTACs with the lightweight, compact, and highly advanced system with the precision required for GPS-guided and laser-guided munitions” Dr. Mark Hutchins

BAE Systems developed the Handheld Azimuth Measuring, Marking, Electro-optic imaging, and Ranging (HAMMER) addressing the army requirement for a lightweight precision targeting solution. As such, HAMMER weighs less than one-half the weight and cost about half the cost of the targeting systems currently in the Department of Defense inventory.
The system employs the company’s Target Reconnaissance Infrared Geolocating Rangefinder (TRIGR) system which has already been fielded. HAMMER architecture enhances precision targeting capabilities by adding a compact laser marker and a non-magnetic compass. For the laser designator BAE Systems teamed with Elbit Systems of America, to provide a laser marker based on laser target designators they have developed and fielded with the U.S. Marine Corps.
BAE Systems and DRS Technologies, Inc., are required to deliver between five and 20 prototypes for testing, between 2014 and 2016. DRS, the U.S. based member of the Italian Finmeccanica group said it will design and produce their TLDS prototypes at DRS facilities in Dallas, Texas and Melbourne, Florida.

HAMMER Precision Targeting System. Photo: BAE Systems

Inside Ballistic Missile Submarine Commanders Eyeball

Ballistic Missile Submarine Commanders Eyeball
Thermonuclear Monarchy: Choosing Between Democracy and Doom.

Elaine Scarry (Released 2014-02-24). W. W. Norton & Company.
First, then, the technological readiness of the United States to retract life from beneath the floor of the world’s inhabitants. The country’s nuclear arsenal includes, but is by no means limited to, fourteen Ohio-class submarines , each carrying the equivalent in injuring power to 4000 Hiroshima blasts.¹
Each one of the fourteen ships carries enough power to destroy the people of an entire continent, to do this as a solo performance, without the assistance of its thirteen fellow ships. The precise arithmetic of this blast power can be hard to keep in mind. But one pair of numbers is easy to grasp: the earth has seven continents; the United States has fourteen Ohio-class submarines.
The United States population often imagines that the arsenal came into being during the Cold War with Russia and that its importance ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. But of the fourteen Ohio-class ships, eight were built, christened, and commissioned after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Here are their names and birth dates.
SSBN USS West Virginia was launched in 1989 and commissioned in October 1990 with the words, “Man this ship and bring her to life .” SSBN USS Kentucky followed. Then, USS Maryland was launched in June of 1991 and commissioned on June 13, 1992. Then came SSBN USS Nebraska. Then, SSBN USS Rhode Island (“ Man this ship and bring her to life”). Then came SSBN USS Maine, launched in July 1994 and commissioned in July 1995; followed by USS Wyoming, launched in July 1995 and commissioned in July 1996 . Finally, USS Louisiana was launched in 1996 and commissioned on September 6, 1997: “Man this ship and bring her to life.”
These eight ships— just the eight built since the fall of the Berlin Wall— carry the equivalent of 32,000 Hiroshima bombs. Each holds within its sleek contours eight times the full-blast power expended by Allied and Axis countries in World War II (this includes, in addition to the nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the firebombing of sixty-seven other Japanese cities, the firebombing of Leipzig and Dresden, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the nightly bombing of London, and six years of artillery fire on beaches, woodlands, hillsides, and cities).
Together, the eight ships built since the fall of the Berlin Wall carry sixty-four times the total blast power expended by all sides in World War II. The launching, christening, and commissioning of these ships was not covered in news reports, not even in the states whose names are borne on the ships along with their heavy cargo. ...
We own 3100 Trident I and Trident II warheads designed for our Ohio-class submarines (with a total blast power of 273,000,000 tons of TNT)²⁴.

1. Each Ohio-class submarine has 24 missiles; each missile has 8 warheads; hence each ship has a total of 192 warheads. The Trident II warhead (Mark 5 W87) can be either 300 or 475 kilotons. Three hundred kilotons times 192 warheads equals 57,600 kilotons or 57.6 megatons. The weapon used in Hiroshima was between 12 and 15 kilotons; therefore, a middle figure of 13.5 kilotons can be used. More arithmetic: 57,600 kilotons divided by 13.5 kilotons is 4266; therefore, each Ohio-class submarine carries the injuring power of 4266 Hiroshimas. If the submarine instead uses a 475-kiloton Trident II warhead, the submarine carries the injuring power of 6755 Hiroshima explosions (for the Trident II warhead figures, see William Arkin, Thomas Cochran, and Milton Hoenig, U.S. Nuclear Forces and Capabilities, Nuclear Weapons Databook, vol. 1 [Pensacola, FL: Ballinger, 1984], p. 15). The numbers just given here are conservative. Often officials give much higher numbers. A Department of Energy newsletter quotes Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder as reporting that the SSBN West Virginia carries the equivalent of 7680 Hiroshima blasts (“Tuck Tells House Panel Rocky Flats Start Up Off until Third Quarter,” Inside Energy/ with Federal Lands, March 26, 1990). Schroeder’s figure is based on the calculation that the submarine has 192 warheads each with forty times the power of that used against Hiroshima. The number of missiles on each Ohio-class submarine is consistently reported as 24; the number of warheads on each missile is usually designated as 8, but is sometimes as high as 17.

24. Natural Resources Defense Council, “Table of U.S. Strategic Nuclear Forces, 2002.”

Related:

2014-0488.htm  ICBM and Nuclear Bomber Commanders Eyeball  March 24, 2014

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The U.S. Navy's Trident nuclear powered submarine Alaska (SSBN-732) is guided into an explosives handling wharf at the Naval Station, Submarine Base, Bangor, WA., 15 August 1998. Source

1/9/2009. KINGS BAY, Ga. - The Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Wyoming (SSBN 742) approaches Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga. Photo by: Lt. Rebecca Rebarich Source
http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4100&tid=200&ct=4
Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarines - SSBN
Description
Since the 1960s, strategic deterrence has been the SSBN's sole mission, providing the United States with its most survivable and enduring nuclear strike capability.
Features
The Navy's ballistic missile submarines, often referred to as "boomers," serve as an undetectable launch platform for intercontinental missiles. They are designed specifically for stealth and the precise delivery of nuclear warheads.
The 14 Ohio-class SSBNs can carry up to 24 submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with multiple independently-targeted warheads. However, under the New Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, each submarine will have four of its missile tubes permanently deactivated in the coming years. The SSBN's strategic weapon is the Trident II D5 missile, which provides increased range and accuracy over the now out-of-service Trident I C4 missile.
SSBNs are specifically designed for extended deterrent patrols. To decrease the amount of time required for replenishment and maintenance, Ohio-class submarines have three large-diameter logistics hatches that allow sailors to rapidly transfer supply pallets, equipment replacement modules and machinery components thereby increasing their operational availability.
The Ohio-class design allows the submarines to operate for 15 or more years between major overhauls. On average, the submarines spend 77 days at sea followed by 35 days in-port for maintenance. Each SSBN has two crews, Blue and Gold, which alternate manning the submarines and taking them on patrol. This maximizes the SSBN's strategic availability, reduces the number of submarines required to meet strategic requirements, and allows for proper crew training, readiness, and morale.
Point Of Contact
Office of Corporate Communication
Naval Sea Systems Command
Office of Corporate Communications (SEA 00D)
Washington, D.C. 20376
General Characteristics, Ohio Class
Builder: General Dynamics Electric Boat Division.
Date Deployed: Nov. 11, 1981 (USS Ohio)
Propulsion: One nuclear reactor, one shaft.
Length: 560 feet (170.69 meters).
Beam: 42 feet (12.8 meters).
Displacement: 16,764 tons (17,033.03 metric tons) surfaced; 18,750 tons (19,000.1 metric tons) submerged.
Speed: 20+ knots (23+ miles per hour, 36.8+ kph).
Crew: 15 Officers, 140 Enlisted.
Armament: 24 tubes for Trident II submarine-launched ballistic missiles, MK48 torpedoes, four torpedo tubes.
SSBN websites:
USS Henry M. Jackson (SSBN 730), Bangor, WA
USS Alabama (SSBN 731), Bangor, WA
USS Alaska (SSBN 732), Kings Bay, GA
USS Nevada (SSBN 733), Bangor, WA
USS Tennessee (SSBN 734), Kings Bay, GA
USS Pennsylvania (SSBN 735), Bangor, WA
USS West Virginia (SSBN 736), Portsmouth, VA
USS Kentucky (SSBN 737), Bangor, WA
USS Maryland (SSBN 738), Kings Bay, GA
USS Nebraska (SSBN 739), Bangor, WA
USS Rhode Island (SSBN 740), Kings Bay, GA
USS Maine (SSBN 741), Bangor, WA
USS Wyoming (SSBN 742), Kings Bay, GA
USS Louisiana (SSBN 743), Bangor, WA
Last Update: 6 December 2013

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http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=2200&tid=1400&ct=2

Trident Fleet Ballistic Missile
Description
Intercontinental ballistic missiles launched from submarines.
Features
Trident II (D5) missiles are deployed in Ohio- class (Trident) submarines, each carrying 24 missiles.
The Trident II (D5) is a three-stage, solid-propellant, inertially guided FBM with a range of more than 4,000 nautical miles (4,600 statute miles). Trident II is more sophisticated than Trident I (C4) with a significantly greater payload capability. All three stages of the Trident II are made of lighter, stronger, stiffer graphite epoxy, whose integrated structure means considerable weight saving. The missile?s range is increased by the aerospike, a telescoping outward extension that reduces frontal drag by about 50 percent. Trident II is launched by the pressure of expanding gas within the launch tube. When the missile attains sufficient distance from the submarine, the first stage motor ignites, the aerospike extends and the boost stage begins. Within about two minutes, after the third stage motor kicks in, the missile is traveling in excess of 20,000 feet (6,096 meters) per second.
Background
Submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) have been an integral part of the strategic deterrent for six generations, starting in l956 with the U.S. Navy Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) Polaris (A1) program. Since then, the SLBM has evolved through Polaris (A2), Polaris (A3), Poseidon (C3) Trident I (C4) and today's force of Trident II (D5). Each generation has been continuously deployed at sea as a survivable retaliatory force and has been routinely operationally tested and evaluated to maintain confidence and credibility in the deterrent.
Trident II (D5) was first deployed in 1990 and is planned to be deployed past 2020. The Trident II (D5) missile is also provided to the United Kingdom which equips the missile with UK warheads and deploys the missile on Vanguard Class UK submarines.
Point Of Contact
Department of the Navy,
Strategic Systems Programs
Arlington, VA 22202-3930
General Characteristics, Trident II (D5)
Primary Function: Strategic Nuclear Deterrence.
Contractor: Lockheed Missiles and Space Co., Inc., Sunnyvale, CA.
Date Deployed: 1990.
Unit Cost: $30.9 million.
Propulsion: Three-stage solid-propellant rocket.
Length: 44 feet (13.41 meters).
Diameter: 83 inches (2.11 meters).
Weight: 130,000 pounds (58,500 kg).
Range: Greater than 4,000 nautical miles (4,600 statute miles, or 7,360 km).
Guidance System: Inertial.
Warhead: Nuclear MIRV (Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicles).
Last Update: 17 January 2009

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Ballistic Missile Submarine Commanders Eyeball

Addresses common to submarine commanders are: Ballston Spa, NY and Charleston, SC (Nuclear propulsion) St Marys, GA (Kings Bay Base, Atlantic Command) Poulsbo, WA (Bangor Base, Pacific Command) Washington State (Bangor Base) Groton, CT (New London Submarine Base) Virginia Beach, VA (Undersea warfare) Colorado Springs, CO (Strategic Command) Hawaii (Staging bases)

Based at Bangor Base WA

U.S.S. Henry M. Jackson Blue Crew Commanding Officer: Commander Jon Moretty Gold Crew Commander: Commander Edward Robledo

U.S.S. Alabama Blue Crew Commanding Officer: Commander Bradley Terry Gold Crew Commanding Officer: Commander Brodey Frailey

U.S.S. Nevada Blue Crew Commanding Officer: Commander James McIver [No records.] Gold Crew Commanding Officer: Commander Chad Hennings

U.S.S. Pennsylvania Blue Crew Commanding Officer: Commander Gustavo Gutierrez [No records.] Gold Crew Commanding Officer: Commander Tiger Pittman

U.S.S. Kentucky Green Crew Commanding Officer: Commander Jeffrey Smith Undergoing 2-year overhaul in 2011 [No records.]

U.S.S. Nebraska Green Crew Commanding Officer: Commander Jeffrey Joseph

U.S.S. Maine Blue Crew Commanding Officer: Commander William Johnson [No records.] Gold Crew Commanding Officer: Commander Dale Klein

U.S.S. Louisiana Blue Crew Commanding Officer: Commander Kevin Byrne Gold Crew Commanding Officer: Commander Robert Peters

Based at Kings Bay Base, GA

U.S.S. Alaska Blue Crew Commanding Officer: Commander Todd Figanbaum Gold Crew Commanding Officer: Commander Robert Wirth

U.S.S. Tennessee Blue Crew Commanding Officer: Commander John Howrey Gold Crew Commanding Officer: Commander Richard Dubnansky

U.S.S. West Virginia Commanding Officer: Commander Adam Palmer

U.S.S. Maryland Commanding Officer: Commander Greg Kercher

U.S.S. Rhode Island Blue Crew Commanding Officer: Commander Louis Springer Gold Crew Commanding Officer: Commander Sean Muth

U.S.S. Wyoming Blue Crew Commanding Officer: Commander Barry Rodrigues Gold Crew Commanding Officer: Commander Chris Nash