Northrop Grumman reported on reaching an important milestone. The company has completed work on the 2000th Trident II (D5) solid propellant rocket engine for intercontinental ballistic missiles.
What is known
Northrop Grumman began work on the Trident II rocket engine in 1996. Over 27 years, the American company has built more than 800 engines for the first and second stages, as well as more than 370 engines for the third stage.
Trident II (D5) is a ballistic missile that is equipped with Ohio-class submarines. The carriers are 14 of the 18 strategic missile cruisers of the US Navy:
USS Henry M. Jackson (SSBN-730);
USS Alabama (SSBN-731);
USS Alaska (SSBN-732);
USS Nevada (SSBN-733);
USS Tennessee (SSBN-734);
USS Pennsylvania (SSBN-735);
USS West Virginia (SSBN-736);
USS Kentucky (SSBN-737);
USS Maryland (SSBN-738);
USS Nebraska (SSBN-739);
USS Rhode Island (SSBN-740);
USS Maine (SSBN-741);
USS Wyoming (SSBN-742);
USS Louisiana (SSBN-743).
Each Ohio-class submarine can carry up to 20 ballistic missiles, which have up to eight nuclear warheads. The maximum launch range of the Trident II (D5) is over 12,000 km.
Intercontinental ballistic missiles are manufactured by Lockheed Martin. She has already conducted more than 190 successful flight tests, in which no malfunctions with power plants were recorded.
Source: Northrop Grumman
2023-06-24 12:58:01
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