"Our work in the coming years will span research and development, design, production, testing, operations and maintenance on this important Navy program," said Tory Bruno, vice president of Strategic Missile Programs, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company.

First deployed in 1990 and scheduled for operational deployment until 2042, the Trident II D5 is aboard 12 of an eventual 14 Trident II-configured Ohio-class submarines. The three-stage, solid-propellant, inertial-guided ballistic missile has a nominal range of 4,000 nautical miles and carries multiple independently targeted reentry vehicles.

The Trident II/D5 is the sixth generation of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) program, which started in 1955. The D5 is a three-stage, solid-propellant, inertial-guided submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) with a range greater than 4,000 nautical miles and accuracy measured in hundreds of feet.

The Ohio (SSBN 726)-class submarines each carry 24 Trident missiles-Trident I/C4 on the first eight ships stationed in Bangor, Washington, and Trident II/D5 on the ten ships stationed in Kings Bay, Georgia.

Beginning in FY 2000, four of the C4 ships were converted to carry the Trident II/D5 missile. Trident II missiles are capable of carrying W76 or W88 Multiple Independently Targeted Reentry Vehicles (MIRVs). In operation, these missiles have been declared at eight MIRV warheads under the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).

The US Navy continues to address future deterrence requirements against weapons of mass destruction, and the Trident II/D5 will ensure that the United States has a modern, survivable strategic deterrent.

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