The UGM-96 Trident I, or Trident C4, was an American submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), built by Lockheed Martin Space SystemsinSunnyvale, California. First deployed in 1979, the Trident I replaced the Poseidon missile. It was retired in 2005, having been replaced by the Trident II.[2]
| UGM-96 Trident I (C4) | |
|---|---|
The first launch of a Trident I with a drag-reducing aerospike, from Cape Canaveral, on 18 January 1977
| |
| Type | SLBM |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1979 to 2005 |
| Used by | United States Navy |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Missiles Division |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 73,066 pounds (33,142 kg) |
| Length | 33 feet (10.2 m) |
| Diameter | 71 inches (1.8 m) |
| Warhead | Up to eight W76 warheads in Mark 4 RBs with a yield of 100 kilotonnes of TNT (420 TJ) each. |
| Engine | Solid-fuel rocket |
Operational | 4,600 miles (7,400 km) |
Guidance | Astro-inertial guidance |
| Accuracy | CEP: 229-500 m[1] |
Launch | Ballistic Missile Submarine |
The missile was a three-stage, solid-fuelled system, capable of carrying up to eight W76 warheads in the Mark 4 RB.
The first eight Ohio-class submarines were armed with Trident I missiles. Twelve James Madison- and Benjamin Franklin-class submarines were also retrofitted with Trident I missiles, which replaced older Poseidon missiles.
In 1980, the Royal Navy requested Trident I missiles under the Polaris Sales Agreement. In 1982, the agreement was changed to supply Trident II instead.
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