© 2006 All Rights Reserved. Do not distribute or repurpose this work without written permission from the copyright holder(s).
Printed from https://www.damninteresting.com/retired/unused-missile-tubes-for-rent/
This article is marked as 'retired'. The information here may be out of date, incomplete, and/or incorrect.
The US Navy has eighteen Ohio class submarines, and of those, fouteen can be armed with 24 Trident II SLBM nuclear weapons—this means that they are capable of bearing 50% of the United States’ strategic warheads. The subs are each designed to move stealthily at 20 knots, maintain extended patrols without restocking, and carry nine times the ordinance the Allies dropped on Europe during World War II. But now, due to the end of the Cold War, and treaties that have accompanied that end, there are fewer nukes to go around, and there aren’t enough to load up all those Ohios.
So they’re letting out the space to robotic boarders.
Lockheed Martin has designed a new unmanned aircraft designed to fold the wings in so as to fit in those empty Ohio missile tubes, launch from the missile tube from 150 feet underwater (just as the missiles would), and carry out a pre-programmed mission. And they look cool.
The Cormorant is meant to be outfitted with either a surveillance package for spying over any target at short notice and returning multi-spectral pictures and video, or a short-range weapons package that would allow for bombing at short notice. The plane can then be recovered, reloaded, and replaced in a missile tube to be reused.
Because the world of submarines requires stealth for survival, the Cormorant must necessarily be stealthy as well. It would defeat the purpose of the quietude of the sub by allowing people to follow the plane back to base.
Treaties controlling the the propagation and deployment of nuclear arms are generally good for everyone except the purveyors of war. They’ve built an infrastructure for delivering death to any corner of the globe on a moment’s notice, but now they’re told the style of their destruction must not be nuclear. Will robots be the Cuban Missile Crisis of the twenty-first century?
Further reading:
Popular Science Article on the Cormorant
© 2006 All Rights Reserved. Do not distribute or repurpose this work without written permission from the copyright holder(s).
Printed from https://www.damninteresting.com/retired/unused-missile-tubes-for-rent/
Since you enjoyed our work enough to print it out, and read it clear to the end, would you consider donating a few dollars at https://www.damninteresting.com/donate ?
This is all great, but when do we get sharks with laser beams attached to their heads??
At this point I’d almost settle for a Sea Bass or two with a laser attached to their heads… but until then I guess little planes that can be launched from 150 feet underwater out of outdated missle tubes which used to carry nuclear warheads will suffice ;)
Maybe they could launch sharks with lazer beams attached to their heads out of the now vacant missle tubes. Those bastards would never see that coming.
You guys crack me up with this one. Sharks with laser beams! Sea bass. Great comments!!!
why do the tubes have to be empty, why cant they just use good ol’ fashioned torpedoes?
mudpuppy555 said: “You guys crack me up with this one. Sharks with laser beams! Sea bass. Great comments!!!”
Have you not seen Austin Powers?
why do the tubes have to be empty, why cant they just use good ol’ fashioned torpedoes?
Because missile tubes are vertical and torpedo tubes are horizontal.
ok, good point
I know they could shoot giant hotdogs!
Pyschological warfare at it’s best!
They could fire great big banners that would unfurl and display YOU SUCK in giant letters in the enemy’s language.
That way the enemy would know that they suck.
Firing a 10metre long dildo out of the tubes and over the heads of an enemy force would probably work as a good diversionary tactic. I certainly couldn’t do anything for a few hours if I saw a giant penis flop across the skyline.
Come now, folks. Let’s get our terminology straight here. It’s ‘Frikken sharks with frikken laser beams’. ;-)
oh behave…
Ugh..
Since this is now a kinder, gentler nation, I once glued a laser-pointer to a catfish. Does that count? :*)
This unit should have the capability of counting survivors after a nuclear strike.
Howabout loading relief supplies for victums of storms and such and just shooting them over the needy? Think of all the people who steal most of it between the givers and the getters and how we would elimate that waste.
I assume you’re joking…
I got a better use. They could use the missile-tubes to stuff in a particular president of a particular country and then ferry him all around a particular country to show up at particular political events. The name I’d give this particular combination of president/ missile tube? …Drumroll: A BUSH BOMB.
Think about it… You’d have a ‘nucular’ prez showing up to talk about ‘nucular’ devices now being used for ‘the good of all humanity’. Think I’d opt for the original nuclear warheads instead… :D
Not bad, not bad at all! They have a lot of tubes and a lot of subs with ’em, let’s put all the old men who like to send young men to fight and die in the wars and stuff them in the tubes. You don’t have to fire ’em, just cruise around until the sub runs out of fuel, remove the crew and open all the sea cocks over some really deep water…
BarryW said: “Because missile tubes are vertical and torpedo tubes are horizontal.”
torpedo tubes my be horizontal but how about a vertical one sneek underneeth the enemy and shoot directly up at them
Marius said: “Come now, folks. Let’s get our terminology straight here. It’s ‘Frikken sharks with frikken laser beams’. ;-)”
and you dident finish the coment It’s ‘Frikken sharks with frikken laser beams atached to there frikken heads’
:P
psyOtic said: “torpedo tubes my be horizontal but how about a vertical one sneek underneeth the enemy and shoot directly up at them
tacticly impractical
Or they could put escape pods for the crew if the sub goes down.
Exactly how large are these torpedo tubes anyhow?
Are the sea bass ill-tempered?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_II
This has the specs for a Titan II missile . Pretty nasty things really. But at least they’re not ill-tempered.
psyOtic said: “torpedo tubes my be horizontal but how about a vertical one sneek underneeth the enemy and shoot directly up at them
I’m not so sure I’d want to be directly below the ship I’m sinking.
and you dident finish the coment It’s ‘Frikken sharks with frikken laser beams atached to there frikken heads’
:P”
Sorry, it’s hard to type with one pinky held to my mouth. ;-)
Screw the submarines, i opt for a giant “laser” on the moon. No mini-me don’t hump the “laser”!
This has the specs for a Titan II missile . Pretty nasty things really. But at least they’re not ill-tempered.
I don’t know that I’d say that. According to this site, it looks like the things are pretty ill-tempered:
http://asms.k12.ar.us/armem/ha/ACCIDENT.HTM
The Air Force has disclosed that between 1975 and 1979 there have been 125 accidents at Titan sites in Arkansas, Arizona and Kansas. From March 1979 to September 1980 there were ten other leaks and accidents at Arkansas Titan sites.
Dave
Stuart said: “I certainly couldn’t do anything for a few hours if I saw a giant penis flop across the skyline.”
Didn’t I see this in a movie once?
Troy Chastain said: “Didn’t I see this in a movie once?”
I think it was from a 1974 soft core porn movie “Flesh Gordon”
I say we just load em up with NASCAR t-shirts. Then we have them launched by hot chicks in tight shorts.
Also: chicken wings.
Wow I need to see Flesh Gordon!
Sir, I will buy you missle tube. Everyone (even me) gets a kiss under the missle tube. Ladies like the missles. Laser beams. Talapia. Etcetera.
wow…i havent read this articles set of comments before…i should liquidate the lot of you…YOU ARE INSOLENT
The picture of the comorant is very interesting. It is an odd looking but attractive machine. I do not understand how it flys, and stays stable with the open hatch thingy in front. Can you all explain this to me? Uh, is it a remote controled type of propulsion, I dont see engines or gas tanks. It says it is a robotic machine and is retrieved for re-use, how is that accomplished? Confused.
Very similar photo of a Phalacrocoracidae
http://www.montereybay.com/creagrus/cormorants.html
Well Tink, first the photo is an artist’s concept of what it may look like. Various specs for it are confidential at this time. So I will do my best to answer from what I have found out.
Tink says: “I do not understand how it flys, and stays stable with the open hatch thingy in front
That “open hatch thingy” is the air intake for the jet engine. “Fish gotta swim, jets gotta breathe”.
Upon launch, the Cormorant utilizes short-burst rocket boosters to achieve flight, once in the air it switches over to a convential type jet engine. It does not shoot out of the tube like a missile, but floats to the top where it will wait until a pre-programmed time to allow the sub to “slip” away from the launch site. The Cormorant has an “intelligent” AI that can be overridden fat anytime by a remote operator either aboard the launching sub, or from another location. This operator would control it like a video game using a laptop computer type remote with joystick controllers and a keypad for entering “other” types of commands.
The Cormorant will have the capacity to be outfitted for various types of campaigns, either package delivery or reconnaissance.
Once the operation has been completed the craft will return to either a preprogrammed pickup zone or one selected by a remote operator. Once in the pickup zone, another robotic “saddle” will retrieve the Cormorant and return it to the sub or other pickup vehicle.
The Cormorant is also no lightweight since it will come in around four-tons. To resist corrosion, the body will be made of titanium with any voids filled with plastic foam to resist pressure crush. The rest of the body will be pressurized with inert gas to help keep down the weight and inflatable seals will keep the engine and weapon-bay doors watertight.
Hope this helps Tink.
afteryou said: “Very similar photo of a Phalacrocoracidae
http://www.montereybay.com/creagrus/cormorants.html“
ACK! Comorants are evil, evil, evil! And they’re just plain no good, too.