U.S. Navy, Lockheed Martin Celebrate 20th Anniversary of Trident I C4 Maiden Patrol
SUNNYVALE, Calif.---An historic milestone for one of the nation's most enduring strategic nuclear deterrents was achieved this month when the U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space celebrated the 20th anniversary of the first patrol of the Missiles & Space built Trident I C4 Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM).
On Oct. 20, 1979, the C4 missile system deployed on its maiden operational patrol from the POLARIS Missile Facility Atlantic, Charleston, S.C., aboard the USS Francis Scott Key, SSBN 657. Since that first patrol, the Trident I C4 missile system has successfully completed nearly 800 strategic deterrent patrols on POSEIDON Backfit and TRIDENT submarines in defense of the nation.
"The remarkable success and longevity of this missile is a testament to the tremendous teamwork among the Navy, Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space and the entire government and industry FBM team,'' said Lockheed Martin FBM vice president, Steve Parsons. "The engineering principles and logistics disciplines applied to this missile from some of the brightest minds in the government and aerospace industry have made it one of the most enduring and reliable weapon systems in history.''
The Trident I C4 system, the fifth generation SLBM, will soon be the nation's oldest, continuously operated, sea-based strategic missile system.
At the time of its initial deployment, the Trident I C4 missile had just completed the most successful SLBM development flight test program in history -- 20 out of 23 successful test flights. Today, the Trident I C4 system continues to meet or exceed all Navy operational performance and readiness requirements. This despite the fact the system was designed only for a ten-year service life requirement.
"The Polaris, Poseidon and Trident series of missiles produced by Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space for the Navy have been the cornerstone of this nation's strategic deterrent force for more than 40-years,'' said Adm. (sel) Denny Dwyer, technical director, U.S. Navy Strategic Systems Programs. "The Trident I C4 missile system has demonstrated exceptional performance and has gone above and beyond our expectations with regard to performance and life expectancy.''
The Trident I C4 strategic weapon system will continue to serve the nation's strategic deterrence needs for another five years until the system is inactivated in favor of a more modern, accurate and supportable Trident II D5 missile system which is currently deployed in the Atlantic fleet.
The Navy selected Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space as its prime missile contractor in 1956. Since then, the FBM team has produced the Polaris (A1), Polaris (A2), Polaris (A3), Poseidon (C3), Trident I (C4) and the Trident II (D5) missile. Missiles & Space has produced 570 C4 missiles for the Navy between 1976 and 1986.
Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space, Sunnyvale, is an operating division within Lockheed Martin Space Systems, headquartered in Bethesda, Md. The division is a world leader in the design, production and integration of systems for space-based telecommunications, defensive and strategic missiles, remote sensing and space science. Its diversified business base ranges from the U.S. government to global commercial customers through its operating unit, Commercial Space Systems.
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U.S. Navy, Lockheed Martin Celebrate 20th Anniversary of Trident I C4 Maiden Patrol
