The Adventures of the MX Missile MX Warheads

The Adventures of the MX Missile

MX Warheads

The Threat: ICBM Vulnerability

The Future Threat: More Vulnerability?

The Players: Mid-1970 s • President Ford/Carter • Sec. Def Schlesinger/Rumsfeld/Brown • OSD • USAF • JCS • Members of Congress

MX Multiple Protective Shelters

Cluster Based MPS

Another View of MPS

MX MPS Challenged Then Rejected 1. States 1. Utah, Nevada, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska 2. Legislation a. National Environmental Protection Act (1969) b. Federal Land Policy Management Act (1976) • Environmental Impact Statements 3. Reagan

1981: Back to Drawing Board • Townes Commission (Executive) • OTA, MX Missile Basing, 1981 (Legislative) • IDEAS: • 35 Basing modes considered!!!!

1. Rail Mobile

The HO Version

2. Underground Basing: A “DUMB” Idea?

Launch of Underground-based MX

3. Submarine-based MX

But wait! There’s More… 4. Silo-Based 5. Airborne 6. Surface ship launch 7. Closely-Spaced Basing (Dense Pack) 8. Ballistic Missile Defense 9. Launch on warning…

New Commission 1983 Scowcroft Commission (President’s Commission on Strategic Forces) Solution 1. MX in Silos 2. Small ICBM (Midgetman): Road Mobile

Small ICBM (Midgetman)

SICBM-HML

SICBM-HML

Rail-Mobile MX: 1985 -1986

1989: Back in Silos 1991: START II Eliminates it START II, 1991 Article II 1. “No later than (January 1, 2003, 1991 text; (December 31, 2007, 1993 revision) each Party undertakes to have eliminated or to have converted to launchers of ICBMs to which one warhead is attributed all its deployed and non-deployed launchers of ICBMs to which more than one warhead is attributed…. ”