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Trident II (D5) SLBM (m)
Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
Modeled by the Norseman
 Range:
Class 3000 (4,606 miles)
Price: Un (30.9+ million)
Damage: Multiple Independent Re-Entry Vehicles (Shift-Z Nuclear
Explosive, each)
Speed: Class 1000 (re-entry)
Material: In
Tracking: Am
Description: Intercontinental ballistic missiles launched
from submarines.
Contractor: Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space, Sunnyvale,
California
Weight: 130,000 pounds (58,500 kg)
Range: 4,000 Nautical Miles (4,606 miles)
Date Deployed: 1990
Services: Navy only.
Background: The Trident II (D5) is a three-stage,
solid-propellant, inertially guided ICBM 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.
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