MGM-134 Midgetman

Matching Midgetman sizes (right) with Minuteman 3 , Common Missile and Piskipper

By the mid -1980s, the US Air Force had developed requirements for a new type of ICBM , lighter and more mobile. The United States was worried by the rapid progress in the field of SLBMs , which could allow the Soviet Union to quickly neutralize the US ground-based strategic forces based exclusively in silos . At the same time, in the USSR the first mobile Topol ICBM and the Molodets combat railway missile system were already preparing for adoption.

Scientific development for the small-sized ICBM Midgetman project began in 1983 . In 1986, Martin Marietta began developing the XMGM-134A. In 1989, its first launch took place, which turned out to be unsuccessful: the rocket departed from the set course and was eliminated at the 70th second of the flight. The second launch took place on April 18, 1991 and was successful: the rocket launched from Vandenberg air base in California , and after 30 minutes of flight, having covered 7300 km, its warhead hit a conditional target at the Kwajalein training ground in the Pacific Ocean . In total, it was planned to conduct 16 test launches, but in September 1991 the program was closed. ^[one]

The MGM-134A missile was a three-stage solid-fuel ICBM. Like the Minitman and Topol systems, a mortar launch was used on the MGM-134: the main engine turns on after a rocket is fired from a canister by a series of small explosions. The missile had a maximum firing range of 11,000 km and was equipped with a monoblock warhead .

• Courier (PGRK)

• About the development in the USA of the mobile midget strategic missile system Midgetman Pentagonus.ru website