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A BGM -109C Ground Launched Cruise Missile bursts out of its launcher. The GLCM provides NATO theatre nuclear commanders with a precise retaliatory weapon capable of striking 1500nm deep into Russian-held territory. Already deployed, it is an effective deterrent to the Kremlin's SS-20 IRBM strike force which now numbers nearly 400 units targetted on Western Europe alone
Technology Explained – Cruise Missiles
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Cruise Missiles Part II
Conventional and Theatre Nuclear Cruise Missiles
The resurrection of the cruise missile in the last decade has spawned a diverse family of weapons, some of which are merely order-of-magnitude improvements upon earlier systems, but some of which do represent original and unique concepts in weapon system development.
The impact of this family of weapons has been and will continue to be significant, as the USSR has little choice other than to spend on advanced air defence and early warning facilities. It is hardly surprising therefore that the Soviets have engaged in an unprecedented propaganda campaign to stop deployment of these weapons, as propaganda is intrinsically cheaper than buying AEW/AWACS platforms by the dozen.
The vehicle central to this whole issue is the Tomahawk cruise missile or rather any one of its numerous derivatives. A very compact missile, the Tomahawk lost to the AGM-86 ALCM in the USAF’s quest for an air-launched strategic cruise missile, but instead picked up the • ultimately more significant roles of the Ground Launched Cruise Missile (GLCM), the Sea Launched Cruise Missile (SLCM) and the joint – USAF/USN MRASM (Medium Range Air-Surface Missile). The latter roles have in particular resulted in a series of warhead/airframe/guidance derivatives which are certain to keep General Dynamics’, the prime contractor’s – and McDonnell Douglas’, the guidance subcontractor’s, production lines running for some time yet.
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