Sprint (missile)

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Sprint Missile
Technical Summary
Dual launch of Sprint missiles during a salvo test at Meck island
Dual launch of Sprint missiles during a salvo test at Meck island
Manufacturer Martin Marietta
First stage Hercules X-265
2900 kN (650,000 lbf)
Second stage Hercules X-271
Length 8.20 m overall
Diameter 1.35 m
Wingspan
Mass 3500 kg
Range 40 km
Ceiling 30 km
Max Speed >Mach 10(7500 mph)
Typical battery crew
Guidance system Radio Command
Warhead W-66 nuclear low Kt,
enhanced radiation
Firing modes:
Magazine capacity:
Rate of fire:
Introduction date: IOC:1972

The Sprint was a United States Army anti-ballistic missile, developed as part of the Nike-X program, later redesignated the Sentinel program. Sentinel never became operational, but the technology was deployed briefly in a downsized version called the Safeguard program.

Sprint was a two-stage, solid-fuel surface-to-air missile armed with a W66 enhanced radiation thermonuclear warhead.

The Sprint, like the Spartan, was in operational service for only a few months in the Safeguard program, from October 1975 to early 1976. A combination of high costs, congressional opposition, questionable efficacy and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty resulted in a very short operational period.

The Sprint accelerated at 100g, reaching a speed of Mach 10 in 5 seconds. It was designed for close-in defense against incoming nuclear weapons. As the last line of defense it was to intercept the reentry vehicles that had not been destroyed by the Spartan, with which it was deployed.

The Sprint was stored in and fired from a silo. To make the launch as quick as possible, the cover was blown off the silo by explosive charges; Then the missile was ejected by an explosive-driven piston. As the missile cleared the silo, the first stage fired and the missile was tilted toward its target. The first stage burned out after only 1.2 seconds, but produced 2900 kN (650,000 lbf) of thrust. The second stage fired within 1 - 2 seconds of launch. Interception at an altitude of 1500 m to 30000 m took at most 15 seconds.

The Sprint was controlled by ground-based radio command, which tracked the incoming reentry vehicles with phased-array radar and guided the missile to its target.

The sprint was armed with an enhanced radiation nuclear warhead with a yield reportedly of a few kilotons, though the exact number has never been declassified. The warhead was intended to destroy the incoming reentry vehicle primarily by neutron flux.

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