TheUGM-89 Perseus was a proposedU.S. Navysubmarine-launchedanti-ship (AShM) andanti-submarine (ASW)cruise missile that was developed under the Submarine Tactical Missile (STAM) project, which was also referred to as the Submarine Anti-ship Weapon System (STAWS). This missile system was to be the centerpiece for a proposed third-generation nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine championed bythen-Vice AdmiralHyman G. Rickover, the influential but controversial head of theNavy's nuclear propulsion program.^[3][4]

The Navy issued the STAM requirement in March 1969, and theLockheed Missiles and Space Company (LMSC) responded to this proposal, which included the formation of an undersea warfare program organization inSunnyvale, California.^[1][2][5] It is unclear if this was to be an entirely new organization or part of the Lockheed Underwater Missile Facility (LUMF) which had been responsible for the design and development of thePolaris,Poseidon, andTridentsubmarine-launched strategic ballistic missile (SLBM) systems for the U.S. Navy.^[7] In February 1970, themissile designation ZUGM-89A Perseus was reserved for the U.S. Navy presumably for the STAM/STAWS missile development program.^[5][8]

Because of its large size, the UGM-89 Perseus missile could not be launched from the Navy's standard 21 in (530 mm) submarinetorpedo tubes, but would be carried in avertical 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 missilewarheadpayload would be a new 21-inch (533 mm) diameterhoming 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 itsinitial operational capability (IOC).^[4]

The UGM-89 Perseus missile system was cancelled in 1973, and its proposed nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine platform was officially cancelled in 1974, with the Navy deciding to build the less expensiveLos Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack submarines, which would subsequently carry both theHarpoon anti-ship missile andTomahawk cruise missiles.^[2][3][4][5] The ASW component of the UGM-89 Perseus would later serve as the baseline for the proposedSea Lance stand-off ASW missile system, which would also be cancelled.^[4][6]

• BGM-109 Tomahawk
• RUR-5 ASROC
• UGM-84 Harpoon
• UUM-44 SUBROC
• UUM-125 Sea Lance

• Francillon, René J. (1988).Lockheed Aircraft since 1913.Annapolis, Maryland:Naval Institute Press.ISBN 0-87021-897-2.
• Friedman, Norman (1994).U.S. Submarines Since 1945: An Illustrated Design History.Annapolis, Maryland:Naval Institute Press.ISBN 1-55750-260-9.
• Polmar, Norman; J.K. Moore (2004).Cold War Submarines: The Design and Construction of U.S. and Soviet Submarines.Washington, DC: Potomac Books, Inc.ISBN 1-57488-530-8.

• UGM-89 Perseus - Directory of US Military Rockets and Missiles
• UGM-89 Perseus - Harpoon series
• UGM-89 Perseus -Encyclopedia Astronautica
• Missile Design Series - GlobalSecurity.org
• "Lockheed's Tactical Undersea Missile" -Flight International - May 29, 1969

• Abandoned military rocket and missile projects of the United States
• Naval guided missile launch systems of the United States
• Cold War anti-submarine weapons of the United States
• Cold War anti-ship missiles of the United States
• Cruise missiles of the United States
• Anti-submarine missiles of the United States
• Lockheed Corporation

• Articles with short description
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