Pershing II System Description

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OA 9608

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(U) PERSHING PROGRAM HISTORY (U) The Pershing development program was initiated in January 1958. Martin Marietta Aerospace was awarded the prime contract in March 1958. The first Pershing battalion was activated at Fort Sill in June 1962 and deployed in Europe in 1964. The Pershing I (PI) system was mounted on M-474 (modified M-113) tracked vehicles. (U) Initial assignment of the quick reaction alert (ORA) mission to Pershing units in Europe was in 1965. To increase the system's ability to shoot, move, and communicate in the QRA role, the Pershing Ia system was developed. This system replaced the tracked vehicles with wheeled vehicles, including an improved erector launcher allowing a faster rate of fire, and was initially deployed in Europe in 1969. Additional system improvements, including the automatic reference system (ARS) and sequential launch adapter (SLA), were fielded in 1976. The ARS provided automatic alignment of the missiles inertial reference system without presurveyed sites, and the SLA allowed countdown and launching of three missiles without moving the launch equipment and cables. (U) The 400th Pershing missile was fired by a German crew at the White Sands Missile Range on 15 October 1980. At that time, the Army Pershing program manager noted that the Pershing system had established a commendable record in schedule, cost, and reliability, making it a top contender for the most successful major weapon system developed by the United States.

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(U) PERSHING PROGRAM HISTORY

1958

START OF PERSHING DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

1963

INITIAL DEPLOYMENT (ON SCHEDULE) -CONUS 2 BNS (1 TRAINING- 1 KOREA) - EUCOM 3 BNS FRG (GERMAN AIR FORCE) 2 WINGS

1965

QUICK REACTION ALERT (ORA) MISSION ASSIGNED

1969

Pia DEPLOYMENT ONE CONUS BN INACTIVATED

1973

MODULAR IMPROVEMENTS (DIGITAL GUIDANCE)

1976

ARS/SLA ISSUED

1980

400TH PERSHING MISSILE FIRING

1983

SCHEDULED Pll DEPLOYMENT

• ALL PERSHING PROGRAM MILESTONES ON SCHEDULE

3

UNCLASSIFIED (U) PERSHING

EVO~UTION

(U) The Pershing I (PI) weapon system entered development in 1958. It was deployed with US units in 1963 and German units in 1965. The system was deployed on tracked vehicles for cross-country mobility. An inertial guidance system provided the required accuracy. The three USAREUR PI battalions were organized with four launchers per battalion and 187 men per missileon-a-launcher. · (U) In 1965, the Army was directed to pursue a program that would make Pershing suitable for the Quick Reaction Alert (ORA) role. This resulted in the development of the Pershing Ia (Pia) system which was deployed in 1969. The Pia program featured modernized ground support equipment and significantly increased the firepower of the Pershing force by increasing the number of launchers in each US battalion and German wing from 4 to 36. This allowed a dramatic reduction from 187 to 41 men per missile-on-a-launcher in a battalion. The PI tracked vehicles were replaced by wheeled vehicles for Pia to provide the increased reliability required for the ORA role. Pia maintained the same warhead yields, accuracy, and range as the previous PI system. (U) A repackaging effort of the missile and power station was completed in 1974 to provide easier access to missile components, reduce maintenance, and improve reliability. A new digital guidance and control computer combined the functions of the analog control computer and the analog guidance computer into one package. The mean corrective maintenance time was de· creased from 8.7 hours to a requirement of 3.8 hours. The reliability from 32 hours mean time between failures to a requirement of 65 hours. (U) Further improvements to the reliability, survivability, and responsiveness of the Pia system were realized in 1976-77 with the fielding of the automatic reference system (ARS) and the sequential launch adapter (SLA). The ARS uses a North· seeking gyro to provide directional reference for the Pia guidance system. This increases the system survivability by eliminating the requirement for presurveyed launch sites. The SLA reduces reaction times by allowing the programmer test station to launch up to three missiles without having to move or recable. (U) Pershing II (PII) is an evolutionary modernization of the Pia system currently in the field. New motor stages and a terminally guided reentry vehicle (RV) will give Pll significantly increased range and an order of magnitude improvement in accuracy compared to Pia. The increased accuracy allows low yield warheads to be used that are consistent with SACEUR policy to reduce collateral damage while maintaining high weapon effectiveness. Pll has a planned IOC date of December 1983.

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(U) PERSHING'S MISSION IN EUROPE (U) Pershing Ia is now deployed with three U.S. battalions in Europe and two Federal Republic of Germany Air Force wings. Each battalion and wing has 36 mobile launchers. During peacetime operations, a portion of the Pia assets are deployed on the QRA mission. The remainder are conducting field training or are maintained in kasernes awaiting alert. The system is designed to be highly mobile, permitting its dispersal to clandestine sites in times of alert or war. It is deployed at distances greater than 100 km behind the FEBA or political border. Owing to its mobility and setback, Pershing is one of the most survivable theater nuclear weapons currently in Europe. (U) Deployment of PII will be similar to that of Pia. The quantity of erector launchers will be the same as Pia, with TOE reductions in the areas of vehicles, cables, and personnel. Through these reductions, the fielded system will exhibit greater flexibility and increased survivabil ity.

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0 U.S. KASERNE

6 FRG KASERNE

•

BERLIN

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HANNOVER

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FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY

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POLAND EAST GERMANY

ePORZ WAHN GEl LEN KIRCHEN

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FRANKFURT

CZECHOSLOVAKIA

0 HEILBRON (3/84) STUTTGART O SCHWABISCH (56 BDE 1/411 e GMUND

FRANCE

0 NEU ULM (1/81)

AUGSBURG

•

••

•MUNCHEN

~LANDSBERG

SWITZERLAND

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AUSTRIA

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(U) U.S. Pll SYSTEM FORCE STRUCTURE (U) The Pershing II force structure, basically the same as Pia, is made up of a CONUS Battalion, and in West Germany the 56th Field Artillery (Pershing) Brigade plus a theater support platoon. · (U) The Conus Battalion provides a rotational base for Pershing personnel returning from Europe and provides support for Pershing firing activities in CONUS. . (U) The 56th Brigade consists of three field artillery (Pershing) battalions, a maintenance battalion, and an attached infantry battalion (security). (U) The battalions are made up of a headquarters and service battery and four firing batteries with 9 launchers each. Each battery has three firing platoons with three missiles each. In peacetime the four batteries in each battalion rotate through four alert readiness conditions, the highest being the assumption of a quick reaction alert status. At random times, during peacetime, batteries would move to the field under battalion control to maintain tactical proficiency. (U) During periods of tension (POT) one battery out of each four is moving at any one time, allowing 75 percent of the force to maintain target coverage. Three firing platoons actually maintain geographical separation for increased survivability during the movements. While deployed in platoon positions or while moving each platoon is capable of receiving a release message, independent of battery or battalion operations, and autonomously executing a fire mission. (U) The maintenance battalion provides all logistics, maintenance, and aviation support to the 56th Brigade. Direct support and limited general support for all mission essential equipment is provided by the forward support companies assigned at each FA battalion location. (U) The infantry battalion provides physical security at the Pershing ORA sites in peacetime. During periods of tension the infantry battalion provides the outside perimeter security for the Pershing platoons in the field.

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PERSHING II SYSTEM FORCE STRUCTURE

I CONUS BN

FA BDE PERSHING II

THEATER SUPPORT PLATOON

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1

FA BN PERSHING

56TH BDE HQ

SUPPORT BN

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HOAND HOCO

FWD SPT CO(DS)

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INFANTRY BN

'--------' I MAINT AND SUPPLY CO

FIRING BATTERY

II

AVIATION SPT

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•I PLT

I PLT

PLT

NOTE:

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TOE BASED ON Pta SUPPORT BATTALION ORGANIZATION

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(U) PERSHING II EFFECTIVENESS (U) Against a spectrum of targets varying from very soft to extremely hard, it can be seen that with the accuracy of Pia, even with high yield nuclear warheads, the probability of kill (PK) starts to degrade rapidly as target hardness increases. On very hard targets, it is necessary to plan multiple strikes to improve PK. (U) The pinpoint accuracy of PII (even with much smaller nuclear yields) provides a significant improvement in PK, particularly against hard point or underground targets. (U) A recent study shows that against a particular target array, the improved accuracy combined with the lower yield warheads planned for PII results in an order of magnitude reduction in unwanted civilian collateral casualties.

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• PERSHING II SYSTEM ACCURACY AND TAILORED YIELDS GREATLY INCREASE MILITARY EFFECTIVENESS AND REDUCE UNWANTED COLLATERAL DAMAGE UNCLASSIFIED

INCAPACITATING --!CASUAL TIES

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V/7;1 FATALITIES MILLIONS OF CIVILIAN COLLATERAL CASUALTIES PROBABILITY OF KILL Pia & AC PRESENT NOP

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SOFT

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MEDIUM

RAIL CHOKE GROUND POINTS

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HARD

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(U) SHAPE REQUIREMENTS (U) PII was originally planned to have the same range as Pia. This PII system using Pia motors was tested during the Advanced Development program. Between the completion of the Advanced Development program and the start of full scale engineering development, SHAPE requested that OSD direct the following three specific requirements to be incorporated into the system to satisfy their needs: 1

(U)

Extend the range of PII to cover targets in the western Soviet military districts.

2

(U)

Transport and launch PII from a modified Pia launcher, which makes it appear similar to the Pia that has been visible to the German populace for many years.

3

(U)

Design the missile and launcher so that either the long range two stage missile or a short range missile using only the first stage of the two stage version could be launched from the same launcher. The short range single stage missile should have the same range as the present Pia missile. This configuration is now designated as PI b.

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t • Pll RANGE INCREASED TO ENCOMPASS WESTERN SOVIET . MILITARY DISTRICTS • Pta LAUNCHER BE RETAINED AND MODIFIED FOR Pll • Pll MISSILE AND LAUNCHER DESIGNED FOR REMOVAL OF SECOND STAGE, CREATING A SYSTEM HAVING Pia RANGE (PI b)

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(U) PERSHING OPERATIONAL CYCLE (U) The primary mission in the SACEUR Scheduled Plan takes one of two forms: peacetime or an increased state of readiness called period of tension. Different levels or techniques of tasking are used for these mission forms. The peacetime quick reaction alert (ORA) role requires that for each battalion (wing) one firing battery (or a portion thereof) be on combat alert status (CAS) on a permanent hard site, covering assigned targets. Full criteria sites are provided for each battalion. These facilities are sufficient to house and store all the battalion assets and to be the location for the battery assigned to CAS. (U) In peacetime the four batteries of each battalion rotate through four states or conditions of alert readiness, the highest being that of the CAS battery. The purposes of this rotation are to assume the CAS status, to share the burden of CAS responsibility, to provide time for field tactical training and equipment maintenance, and to give ample leave and pass time to personnel without adverse impact on operational requirements. (U) During periods of increased tension, the firing batteries of each battalion are deployed to previously unused field tactical sites. At these sites, they assume responsibility for coverage of all assigned targets. During transition from the peacetime to full combat status, coverage is maintained on the highest priority targets that are assigned to the peacetime CAS batteries. (U) Once all firing batteries are at their field sites, the firing elements of the battalions are deployed by platoons, which are separated from each other geographically to reduce vulnerability. The platoons then move to new firing positions on a random schedule to increase survivability.

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t • ORA OPERATIONS • MINIMUM MAINTENANCE • FIELD TRAINING • BACKUPORA

PRE-COMBAT ALERT STATUS

• PREPARE TO ASSUME ORA

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(U) Pla/PII COMPARISON (U) Shown is a summary and comparison of the major hardware for Pia and PI I. The Pia missile is a two stage, surfaceto-surface, ballistic missile with an all inertial guidance system. This type of guidance places the warhead in a preselected ballistic trajectory. The warhead section is a conical reentry structure with an ablative material over the aluminum substructure. The warhead is a nuclear airburst/surface burst (AB/SB) system. The minimum range of Pia is 185 km and its maximum range is 740 km. The Pia launch weight is 10,244 pounds. The Pia erector launcher is pulled by a M757, 5-ton tractor; a davit located on the erector launcher is used in warhead mating operations. (U) The PII missile is similar in physical dimension to the Pia missile, but is heavier, weighing approximately 16,400 pounds. The PII missile places the reentry vehicle (RV) in a ballistic trajectory to a predetermined altitude above the target. At the predetermined altitude, the terminal guidance in the RV is activated, steering the RV to the target. The Pll warhead is also a nuclear AB/SB warhead with all the modern nuclear safety, command, and control features. The Pll launcher is a modified version of the Pia launcher. The major changes to the launcher were removal of the davit and cable mast, redesign of the warhead pallet and EL control panel, and upgrading of the EL running gear. A 10-ton crane was added to the EL 10-ton M.A.N. tractor along with a 30 kW diesel powered generator to provide primary system power.

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P£ RSHINti •

PERSHING II

REENTRY

VEHICLE

CHARACTERISTICS

Pta

RANGE (MAX)

1.0

GUIDANCE

INERTIAL

20

ACCURACY (CEPt

SECOND STAGE

U.S. Pll

RADAR TERMINAL

10 TIMES BETTER

WARHEAD

AB/SB

ABiSB

MEN/LAUNCHER IBDEI

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LAUNCHER

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FIRST

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WEIGHT lENGTH

tO 244 l8 4151N.

OIAM£ TE R

401N

WEIGHT lENGTH OIAMET A

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(U) SYSTEM FLEXIBILITY (U) The concepts and design for Pll have drawn on over 20 years of Pershing weapon system experience to provide maximum system flexibility to the user. (U) The Pia inertial guidance system and reentry vehicle are replaced with a new. highly accurate. terminally guided and controlled reentry vehicle. The improved accuracy of Pll accommodates air burst/surface burst warheads with reduced. multiple nuclear yields. (U) The Pll missile has been designed to provide flexibility with respect to its range capabilities. By removing or installing this PII second stage. the system maximum range can be controlled and is visibly verifiable. (U) Pll provides flexibility in targeting through the use of magnetic tape cartridges with a number of different preselected targets stored on a single tape. This feature makes target changes as simple as inserting new data through a keyboard or inserting a different target tape cartridge. New targets may be engaged by generating a target scene in the reference scene generation facility located with each battalion or if required, the Pll guidance provides an inertial only backup capability to the radar area correlator. (U) The ground support equipment provides the capability for centralized operations from the platoon control central (PCC) or by removing the remote launch control unit (RLCU) each erector launcher may operate independently provided the necessary communications are available. (U) In addition to standard and quick countdowns similar to those in Pla,·PII provides a hot hold capability. The hot hold allows the system to be counted down and held just prior to remote for extended periods of time permiting extremely rapid launch upon release.

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i

J WARHEAD

FIRING MODE

- AIRBURST/SURFACE BURST

-PLATOON -AUTONOMOUS LAUNCHER

- MULTIPLE YIELDS RANGE

COUNTDOWN MODES

-TWO STAGE MISSILE -SINGLE STAGE MISSILE

-STANDARD -QUICK -HOT HOLD

TARGETING - PRE-PROGRAMMED TARGETS - TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY

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(U ) MAJOR PII ADVANCEMENTS (U ) Th e Pershing weapon system entered development in 1958 and was deployed in 1963. Since that tim e it has undergone numerous modular improvements that have significantly increased the system's operational performance. PII is a modu lar imp rovement to the cu rrently fielded system which will again significantly enhance Pershin g's operatio nal performance.

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MISSlLE GUIDANCE PLATFORM GYROCOMPASSES

•

NO PTS REQUIRED

• THREE MISSILES CAN BE COUNTED SIMULTANEOUSLY • NO HIGH PRESSURE AIR • NO CONDITIONED AIR (COLD) • ALL POWER IS 50 OR 60 CYCLES • FIFTY LESS CABLES PER PLATOON • MISSILE HANDLING CRANE ON LAUNCHER PRIME MOVER • ALL PLATOON GENERATORS ARE STANDARD 30 KW AT 60 CYCLES • AUTONOMOUS CAPABILITY

-UNl:LASSIFIED ?1

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(U) Pll MAJOR EQUIPMENT (U) The major Pll hardware is shown on this chart. The hardware shown on the left side represents the forward area equipment and consists of the missile, the erector launcher with prime mover, the platoon control central (PCC), the reference scene generation facility (RSGF), and the power source. (U) The rear area hardware is shown on the right side of the chart and includes the system components test station (SCTS) , rear area power unit, electrical shop set, and mechanical shop set. Missile slings and containers are also shown.

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REAR AREA EQUIPMENT

FORWARD AREA EQUIPMENT

ll ERECTOR LAUNCHER

RADAR SECTION WARHEAD - - - - • SECTION GUIDANCE AND CONTROU ADAPTER SECTION

10.TON TRACTOR

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REAR AREA POWER UNIT

SYSTEM COMPONENTS TEST STATION

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PLATOON CONTROL CENTRAL

SECOND STAGEPROPULSION SECTION FIRST STAGE PROPULSION SECTION

RV

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ELECTRICAL SHOP SET

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MECHANICAL · SHOP SET

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SUPPLY OFFICE

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PRESERVATION AND PACKAGING

CONTAINERS AND MISSILE SLINGS

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MISSILE

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REFERENCE SCENE GENERATION FACILITY

UNCLASSIFIED

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(U) PERSHING II TWO STAGE TRAJECTORY (U) PI I, a modular improvement to the Pia weapon system, replaces the inertial guidance system and reentry vehicle (RV) with a new, highly accurate, terminally guided RV. Two new propulsion sections provide range capabilities not available in Pia. (U) Prior to launch, the missile is referenced in azimuth by its gyrocompassing inertial platform. After launch, the missile follows an inertially guided trajectory until RV separation. Attitude and guidance commands during powered flight (except for roll _attitude) are executed via the swivel nozzles in the two propulsion sections. Roll control is provided by two movable air vanes on the first stage during first stage flight and by the RV air vanes during second stage flight. The first stage also has two fixed air vanes for stability during first stage powered flight. (U) The midcourse phase of the trajectory is initiated at RV separation and continues until the terminal phase begins. At the beginning of the midcourse phase, the RV is pitched down to orient it for reentry and to reduce its radar cross section. Midcourse attitude is controlled by the RV vane control system during atmospheric exit and reentry, and by a reaction control system during exoatmospheric flight. (U) At a predetermined altitude above the target, the terminal phase begins. A velocity control maneuver (pull up, pull down) is executed under inertial guidance control to slow down the RV and achieve the proper impact velocity. The radar correlator system is activated and the radar scans the target area. Radar return data are compared to prestored reference data and the resulting position fix information is used to update the inertial guidance system and generate RV steering commands. The RV is maneuvered to the target by the RV vane control system.

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