Because of its large size, the UGM-89 Perseus missile could not be launched from the Navy's standard 21 in (530 mm) submarine torpedo tubes, but would be carried in a vertical launching system (VLS) housed within the proposed cruise missile submarine's hull. Twenty VLS tubes would be located in a separate compartment situated between the submarine's operations and reactor compartments.[3][4] The individual launcher tube would be 30 by 300 inches (76 cm × 762 cm) in dimension.[4] The missile warheadpayload would be a new 21-inch (533 mm) diameter homing torpedo to be developed concurrently with the UGM-89 Perseus missile.[2][5]
By 1971, the STAM project had evolved into a long-range Advanced Cruise Missile (ACM) program capable of undertaking a variety of combat missions, including strategic nuclear strike (see table below).[4] The proposed ACM versions of the UGM-89 Perseus STAM would use a slightly enlarged launch tube (40 in × 400 in (100 cm × 1,020 cm), and 1979 would have been the date for its initial operational capability (IOC).[4]
Polmar, Norman; J.K. Moore (2004). Cold War Submarines: The Design and Construction of U.S. and Soviet Submarines. Washington, DC: Potomac Books, Inc. ISBN1-57488-530-8.
External links
UGM-89 Perseus - Directory of US Military Rockets and Missiles