UGM-73 Poseidon

A Poseidon starts from a submerged submarine

0 km ( at 14 MIRV ) to 550 km (at 8 MIRV )

About 460 m

The UGM -73 Poseidon was the second generation of sea-based ballistic missiles of the United States, the successor to the UGM -27 Polaris and predecessor of the Trident. It was started by strategic nuclear submarines.

The two-stage solid-fuel rocket was a development of the Polaris missile. The elimination of guide tubes and sealing rings in the launch tube you could use a larger 51 cm diameter missile. For the same range as the Polaris Poseidon had twice the payload at a greatly increased accuracy and could use against the Polaris SLBM multiple warheads ( MIRV ).

The first flight took place in 1968, the first underwater launch in August 1970 aboard the USS James Madison ( SSBN -627 ). Shortly thereafter, the submarines of the Lafayette class with Poseidon missiles were equipped.