| Country: |
United States of America |
| Alternate Name: |
MGM-135A, Midgetman |
| Class: |
ICBM |
| Status: |
Terminated |
Details
The Small Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (SICBM) or MGM-135A Midgetman was a development project from 1986 to 1992. The idea was to create a lightweight, road-mobile ICBM that would be capable of surviving a Soviet nuclear attack. The U.S. military intended to base the SICBMs at widespread locations, thus making them difficult to locate and destroy in a Soviet first strike.
The Scowcroft Commission had recommended the development of an SICBM in the early 1980s. President Reagan authorized full-scale development in December 1986. On April 18, 1991, the system’s first successful flight test was conducted. An SICBM was launched from a canister at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and reached its target at the Kwajalein Test Range in the Marshall Islands. President George H. W. Bush canceled the SICBM program in January 1992, attributing reduced tensions between the U.S. and Russia following the end of the Cold War.
Nonetheless, the SICBM development program produced a prototype SICBM mobile launcher. Designed by Boeing Aerospace and Electronics and Loral Defense Systems Division, it weighed 108,500 kg and was capable of traveling up to 88 km/h on highways. The launcher used a trailer-mounted plow to dig the launcher into the earth for additional protection form a nuclear blast. Delivered to the U.S. Air Force in December 1988, the launcher was tested until 1991 at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana.(1)
Footnotes
- GlobalSecurity.org, “MGM-134A Midgetman/Small ICBM,” available at http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/systems/sicbm.htm, accessed 28 July 2005; Wright-Patterson AFB, “Small ICBM Hard Mobile Launcher (HML),” available at http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/vfe/vfe9b.htm, accessed on 23 August 2005.
German Newspaper: Iran Tested Missile Secretly in January
February 6, 2006 :: News
The German daily Die Welt cites western intelligence sources as reporting that Iran secretly tested a new surface-to-surface ballistic missile last month. The purpose of the test, which allegedly took place on January 17, was to collect electronic and aerodynamic measurements from the long-range missile during its flight. The test was conducted by a 15-person engineering team under the direct control of the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and was attended by commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as well as some high-ranking employees of the Iranian aviation industry. Diplomatic sources in Iran are cited as saying the test was a success.
The German news agency DDP speculates that the above-mentioned missile may have been the Shahab-4, an intermediate-range weapon similar to the older Shahab-3 except for its increased range of over 2,000 km (approx. 1,250 miles) and its improved accuracy based on more modern digital guidance systems. Although the Shahab-4 project has been shrouded in secrecy in recent years, it is most likely an attempt to make Iran’s missile program less dependent upon foreign materials. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Iran, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: Shahab 6, Small ICBM
Iran Tests Solid-Fuel Missile Engine
May 31, 2005 :: New York Times :: News
In what constitutes a major development for its missile program, Iran has reported success in its test of a solid-fueled ballistic missile engine which is probably designed for a newer version of the Shahab missile family. The range of the solid fuel motor is purported to exceed the stated 2,000 km range of the existing, but gradually upgraded, Shahab-3. Such a reach could give Iran the capability to target all of Israel, Turkey, much of India, parts of Germany and China, and U.S. forces stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Persian Gulf. According to Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani, the test was “100 percent successful.”
If the Iranian claims are accurate, the test represents a significant breakthrough for Iranian missile technology. Solid fuel offers abundant advantages over liquid fuel. It provides its missiles with greater accuracy, faster mobility, quicker deployment, and a longer shelf life. Iran seems likely to arm these missiles with nuclear warheads. Al-Jazeera quoted one Western diplomat as noting, “Why develop a Rolls Royce to only deliver a pizza?” (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Iran, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: Shahab 6, Small ICBM, SS-1A
Iran Tests Suggest Possible EMP Trials
April 27, 2005 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
The May edition of Jane’s Missiles and Rockets reports that recent missile tests by Iran may have been part of the development of an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) warhead. Jane’s cites testimony from the Senate Committee on the Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology, and Homeland Security from March 8, 2005, by Peter Pry and Lowell Wood. Wood is a member of the Congressional EMP Commission, which released its important report on the EMP threat in July 2004.
Some of Iran’s tests of its Shahab-3 had been terminated before the completion of their ballistic trajectories, that is, exploding in mid-flight by what appeared to be a self-destruct mechanism. Iran has nevertheless described the tests as fully “successful.” Pry noted that the apparent contradiction would make sense “if Iran were practicing the execution of an EMP attack.” Lowell Wood is quoted as having testified to the subcommittee that such an attack upon the United States could keep off most electrical functions for a time period of a few hours or decades, depending on how it was executed. Wood also warned the subcommittee that such an EMP warhead could be delivered against the United States by “a Scud missile launched from a freighter off the Atlantic coast.”
Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ), who chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology, and Homeland Security, wrote about the EMP threat in the April 15 edition of the Washington Post.
Joseph Farah from World Net Daily carries a related story today, available online. (Link)
» July 22, 2004: EMP Commission releases report
» April 15, 2005: Washington Post, Sen. Jon Kyl on the EMP threat
» April 27, 2005: World Net Daily on possible Iran EMP preparations
» Full text of The Report of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack
» More stories on: Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Weapons, Iran, Ship-Launched Threat, Terrorism
» Missile details: Shahab 6, Small ICBM
Iran Upgrading Range of Shahab-3
February 25, 2004 :: Middle East Newsline :: News
Iran’s highly effective Shahab-3 will not only be marketed to other countries such as Syria, but will also be undergoing some significant enhancments to extend its range. The Shahab-3 currently reaches some 1,300km, but the improvements could extend that to 1,600km, according to the Middle East Newsline. The upgrades would, it is reported, substitute for Iran’s Shahab-4 development program. However, there are already indications that a form of the Shahab-4 has already been deployed and put into service in 2003. (Article, Link)
» Shahab-3 details
» Shahab-4 details
» More stories on: Iran, Proliferation, Technology
» Missile details: Shahab 6, Small ICBM
