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| RUM-139 VL-ASROC | |
|---|---|
.jpg) RUM-139 midflight | |
| Type | Anti-submarine missile |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1993 – present |
| Used by | United States Navy,Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and others |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Goodyear Aerospace |
| Designed | 1983 – 1993 |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Martin |
| Produced | 1993 – present |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 1,409 lb (639 kg) |
| Length | 16 ft 1 in (4.89 m) |
| Diameter | 1 ft 2 in (358 mm) |
| Wingspan | 2 ft 3.4 in (696 mm) |
| Warhead | RUM-139A:Mark 46 Mod 5 torpedo RUM-139B:Mark 46 Mod 5A(SW) torpedo RUM-139C:Mark 54 torpedo[1] |
| Engine | Two-stagesolid-fuel rocket |
Operational range | 12 nmi (22 km)[2] |
| Maximum speed | Mach 1 (309 m/s; 1013 ft/s) |
Guidance system | Inertial guidance and Mk 210 Mod 0 Digital Autopilot Control subsystem |
Launch platform | Mk 41 VLS |
| References | Janes[3] |
TheRUM-139 Vertical-Launch Anti-Submarine Rocket (VL-ASROC orVLA) is ananti-submarine missile in theASROC family, currently built byLockheed Martin for theU.S. Navy.[1]
Design and development of the missile began in 1983 whenGoodyear Aerospace was contracted by the U.S. Navy to develop a ship-launched anti-submarine missile compatible with the newMark 41 vertical launching system (VLS). The development of theVLS ASROC underwent many delays, and it was not deployed on any ships until 1993. During this development, Goodyear Aerospace was bought byLoral Corporation in 1986, and this defense division was in turn purchased by Lockheed Martin in 1995.[4]
The first VLS ASROC missile was anRUR-5 ASROC with an upgradedsolid-fuel booster section and a digital guidance system. It carries a lightweightMark 46homing torpedo that is dropped from the rocket at a precalculated point on itstrajectory, and then parachuted into the sea.
Thevertical launch missile first became operational in 1993, with more than 450 having been produced by 2007. It is 4.5 meters (15 ft) in length, with a firing range of about 11.8 nm or 22 kilometers (24,000 yd).[2]
Beginning in 1996, the missile was replaced by the newer RUM-139A and subsequently the RUM-139B. Thetorpedo remained the Mark 46, though at one time an improved torpedo called theMark 50 was proposed and then canceled.
In October 2004, the RUM-139C began production with theMark 54 torpedo.[4] The Mk 54 Mod 0 torpedo achievedInitial Operating Capability in 2010, and the U.S. Navy is transitioning its VL-ASROCs to use the Mk 54.[1][5]
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