Article Posted on : - Mar 19, 2012

An unarmed Trident II D5 missile launches from Ohio-class fleet ballistic missile submarine USS Tennessee (SSBN 734) Feb. 22, 2012. A US Navy photo.

SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA (BNS): The US Navy has conducted a successful test flight of a Trident II D5 Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) built by Lockheed Martin.

The Navy launched the unarmed missile from the submerged submarine USS Tennessee (SSBN 734) in the Atlantic Ocean. The test on 22 February marked the 137th successful test flight of the D5 missile.

The Navy launched the missile as part of demonstration and shakedown operation 23 (DASO-23) to certify USS Tennessee for deployment, following a shipyard overhaul period.

The missile was converted into a test configuration using a test missile kit produced by Lockheed Martin that contains range safety devices and flight telemetry instrumentation.

First deployed in 1990, the D5 missile currently is aboard OHIO-class and British VANGUARD-class submarines. The three-stage, solid-propellant, inertial-guided ballistic missile can travel a nominal range of 4,000 nautical miles and carries multiple independently targeted reentry vehicles.