Peacekeeper Rail Garrison
Peacekeeper Rail Garrison Car | |
---|---|
standard gauge |
The Peacekeeper Rail Garrison was a
Development
On December 19, 1986, the
Each train was planned to
Following testing in 1989 at Hudson, CO, two ex-
Two hi-cube boxcars were constructed by St Louis Refrigerator Car Company. They were modified at
The deployment plan called for the trains to be permanently based in shelters that would be constructed on Strategic Air Command bases throughout the United States, with the missile crews on continuous alert.[3] Ten bases were in the running; Fairchild Air Force Base (Spokane, WA), Malmstrom Air Force Base (Great Falls, MT), Minot Air Force Base (Minot, ND), Grand Forks Air Force Base (Grand Forks, ND), Dyess Air Force Base (Abilene, TX), Whiteman Air Force Base, (Knob Noster, MO), Blytheville Air Force Base (Blytheville, AR), Little Rock Air Force Base (Little Rock, AR), Barksdale Air Force Base (Shreveport, LA), and Wurtsmith Air Force Base (Oscoda, MI). Upon the receipt of a signal indicating an increase in alert level, the trains would be "flushed", dispersing onto the American railroad network,[6]: 281 thus making it difficult for an enemy to determine where the missiles were at any given time to target them.[3]
Major contractors for the rail garrison system were Boeing Aerospace Corporation, Westinghouse Marine Division and Rockwell International Autonetics. The proposed main garrison for the weapons deployment system was to be
Testing and termination
After several years of development, the prototype Rail Garrison Car was delivered to the U.S. Air Force on October 4, 1990. After undergoing initial evaluation at
In 1991, with the end of the Cold War, the Peacekeeper rail garrison system was canceled.[3][9] As a result, all operational Peacekeeper missiles produced were installed in former Minuteman silos.[10] Following termination, the prototype rail garrison car was delivered to the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, in 1994 for public display.[3]
Rail Garrison Assets at Vandenberg AFB | |||||
Car | Reporting Mark | VAFB Arrival | VAFB Departure | Gaining Agency | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Locomotive OM-1 | TBCX 4900 | 28 Aug 1991 | 8 Jan 1992 | U.S. Army, Ft Eustis, Virginia | |
Locomotive OM-2 | TBCX 4901 | 28 Aug 1991 | 8 Jan 1992 | U.S. Army, Ft Eustis, Virginia | |
Fuel Car EM-1 | TBCX 90001 | 16 Apr 1991 | ? | USAF, Eielson AFB, Alaska | |
Fuel Car OM-1 | TBCX 90002 | 21 Oct 1991 | 8 Jan 1992 | U.S. Army, Ft Eustis, Virginia | |
Maintenance Car EM-1 | TBCX 90050 | 16 Apr 1991 | ? | USAF, Eielson AFB, Alaska | |
Maintenance Car OM-1 | TBCX 90051 | 21 Oct 1991 | 8 Jan 1992 | U.S. Army, Ft Eustis, Virginia | |
Security Car EMS-1 | DAFX 0004 | 16 Apr 1991 | ? | USAF, Eielson AFB, Alaska | |
Security Car EMS-2 | DAFX 0003 | 16 Apr 1991 | ? | USAF, Eielson AFB, Alaska | |
Launch Control Car EMS-1 | HTCX 402, DAFX 0002 | 16 Apr 1991 | ? | Federal Railroad Administration, Transportation Test Center | |
Launch Control Car ESM-2 | RGX 100, DAFX 0001 | 13 Oct 1990 | ? | USAF, Eielson AFB, Alaska | |
Launch Control Car OM-2 | DAFX 0006 | 29 Oct 1991 | ? | USAF, Eielson AFB, Alaska | |
Launch Control Car OM-4 | HTCX 407, DAFX 0007 | 3 Jul 1991 | ? | Federal Railroad Administration, Transportation Test Center | |
Missile Launch Car EMS-1 | WECX 1003 | 25 Nov 1991 | ? | Federal Railroad Administration, Transportation Test Center | |
Missile Launch Car EM-1 | WECX 1002 | 21 Nov 1991 | ? | USAF Museum, Dayton Ohio | |
Missile Launch Car EM-2 | WECX 1001 | 31 May 1990 | ? | Federal Railroad Administration, Transportation Test Center | |
Flat Car | ? | 16 Oct 1990 | ? | Federal Railroad Administration, Transportation Test Center | |
Security Car | DAFX 0008 | n/a | n/a | ? | |
Security Car | DAFX 0009 | n/a | n/a | ? |
See also
- BZhRK Barguzin
- LGM-30 Minuteman
- Minuteman Mobility Test Train - preceding pilot scale development in the 1960s.
- Railway gun
- RT-23 Molodets - equivalent operational Soviet system.
- Transporter erector launcher - A road-mobile missile launcher.
- White Train
References
Notes
Citations
- ^ Parsch, Andreas (2006-12-17). "Martin Marietta LGM-118 Peacekeeper". Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles. Archived from the original on 2021-11-18. Retrieved 2022-07-01.
After more test launches in the following years, the first few LGM-118A missiles became operational in modified Minuteman silos in December 1986. Peacekeeper deployment was complete in December 1988, when 50 LGM-118As were in silos.
- ^ . p. 67:
Of several options stuided, three have been considered by the USAF to show enough promise for further study and consideration: mobility within a buried trench, mobility among above-ground shelters, and containment in hardened capsules (perhaps to be covertly dispersed in fields of many more unhardened silos than there are missiles).
- ^ a b c d e f g h This article incorporates public domain material from Martin Marietta LGM-118A Peacekeeper. United States Air Force. Retrieved 2022-07-01.
- ^ "BALLISTIC MISSILES". GlobalSecurity.org. 1997. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- ^ Vandenberg AFB 30th Space Wing History, 1992-1993, p. 136
- .
- Department of the Air Force. June 1988. Archived from the originalon 12 March 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
- ^ "Rockwell delivers first functional car for Peacekeeper Rail Garrison launch control system". PR Newswire. October 4, 1990. Retrieved 2010-12-07.[dead link]
- OCLC 3638237. Archived from the originalon 1 July 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
WASHINGTON — The Air Force, under pressure to reduce its budget, has proposed to cancel its plans to deploy MX missiles aboard rail cars and to slow development of Midgetman, a small single-warhead mobile missile, Pentagon sources said Monday. [...] Citing changes in the Soviet strategic threat as well as looming budget constraints, the Air Force's senior officials have urged Defense Secretary Dick Cheney to shift the weight of the nation's nuclear deterrent force instead to bombers and submarine-launched missiles, sources said.
- ^ Graham, William (22 April 2010). "First Minotaur IV launches with Hypersonic Test Vehicle". NASASpaceFlight.com. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
In 1983 the US Air Force decided to use existing silos intended for Minuteman missiles, and to develop the Midgetman missile to replace the mobile capacity.
Further reading
- Boldwick, Michael R. (September 1990). "Missile Trains Move Forward". Trains Magazine. 50 (11). Milwaukee, WI: Kalmbach Publishing: 25–26. ISSN 0041-0934.
- Boldwick, Michael R. (October 1988). "Missiles on Rails". Trains Magazine. 48 (12). Milwaukee, WI: Kalmbach Publishing: 36–40. ISSN 0041-0934.
- Fridling, Barry E.; Harvey, John R. (Winter 1988–1989). "On the Wrong Track? An Assessment of MX Rail Garrison Basing". S2CID 154416215.
External links
- "UNCLASSIFIED - Train proposed for use with the rail-mobile version of the Peacekeeper". GlobalSecurity.org. n.d. Archived from the original on 29 August 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- "BALLISTIC MISSILES". GlobalSecurity.org. 1997. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2022.