Design Flaw Can Make Trident 2 Explode but Navy Is Sure Problem Will Be Solved

The Navy said Thursday that its new Trident 2 missile--envisioned as the most powerful and accurate nuclear weapon ever sent to sea--has a basic design flaw that can cause it to explode seconds after it is launched from a submerged submarine.

But Navy officials predicted that the problem will be fixed in time for the $35-billion program to meet its scheduled initial deployment next March.

A Trident 2 test missile self-destructed Tuesday after its underwater launch from the submarine Tennessee. It was the second failure in three tests of the rocket, which is intended to be the mainstay of the sea-based portion of America’s nuclear arsenal for the next 40 years.

Lt. Greg Smith, a Navy spokesman, said the missile apparently cannot withstand the intense water pressure of the launch. Both failures occurred as the missile’s engines ignited just after it broke the surface of the ocean, he said.

Missile to Be Redesigned

Smith said that the weapon will be redesigned to overcome the flaw and that the Navy fully expects the missile to meet its original performance specifications.

“We still believe in the program,” Pentagon spokesman Fred Hoffman said. “There’s no reason to change our view of its importance, or that it ultimately will be successful, and hopefully on schedule.”

However, retired Rear Adm. Eugene J. Carroll Jr., deputy director of the private Center for Defense Information, said the Navy “may have to make changes that might be a compromise in terms of performance, (but) given enough money and enough time, this missile will be made to work.”

Nevertheless, Carroll, a frequent critic of the Pentagon, said the Trident 2 is the sixth submarine-launched missile to be developed over the last 30 years and that it is shocking that problems remain in the underwater phase.

“The problem seems to reflect some failure to consider the information that they must have compiled in the launching of the earlier systems,” Carroll said. “What we are seeing is a slippage in a system and increased cost for something that is already a $35-billion program.”

Some Problems Corrected

Smith said design problems are not unusual in new weapons systems. The purpose of testing is to identify the flaws so they can be corrected.

He said some problems detected in the first undersea firing in March already have been corrected. The missile was launched successfully Aug. 2 but failed in its third test Tuesday.

Like all submarine missiles, the Trident 2 is propelled to the surface through 30 to 40 feet of water by compressed gas. Shortly after it pops out of the water, its engines ignite to propel it to its target.

When any submarine missile breaks the surface, it creates a plume of water that follows it into the air. Smith said the Trident 2, almost twice as heavy as previous submarine-launched rockets, produced more water pressure and a larger plume than had been anticipated.

“There were no surprises about what happened in terms of the water plume and water pressure,” Smith said. “These were just underestimated somewhat. The missile could not withstand the pressure.”

The Navy said the Trident 2, in its initial test in March, cartwheeled in the air and blew up because launch pressure had jammed a steering nozzle in the wrong position.

Electrical Cables Snapped

It said a nozzle also appeared to be in the wrong position in the failure Tuesday. Beyond that, it said, electrical cables snapped and triggered the self-destruct procedure.

Earlier tests of the missile, conducted on land under controlled conditions, had been successful nearly every time.

The Trident 2 will carry eight nuclear warheads. Its specifications call for sufficient power and accuracy to destroy a Soviet missile in a hardened underground silo 80% of the time. By contrast, the Trident 1 now in service has a 15% kill probability against hardened silos.

The Navy plans to buy 899 Trident 2 missiles for about $40 million each. The missile’s prime contractor is Lockheed Missiles & Space Co. in Sunnyvale, Calif.