Popeye Turbo ALCM / SLCM - Israeli nuclear cruise missiles
Vance P. Frickey
Israeli weapons systems, www.israeli-weapons.com.
Something not usually remarked on is the Israeli sea-borne
nuclear deterrent arsenal. In perspective, it makes sense
for the Israelis to put at least part of their nuclear
arsenal out to sea to lower an attacker's confidence that
they can launch on Israel with impunity. The newer
"Dolphin" class German-built subs may have four tubes apiece
capable of launching SLCMs similar in size to the
air-launched Popeye Turbo - tests were supposedly conducted
off the coast of Sri Lanka of an SLCM from Israeli subs.
Quoted from
http://www.israeli-weapons.com/weapons/missile_systems/air_missiles/popeye_turbo/Popeye_Turbo.html
"In May 2000 Israel is reported to have secretly carried out
its first test launches from two German-built Dolphin-class
submarines of cruise missiles capable of carrying nuclear
warheads. The missiles launched from vessels off Sri Lanka
in the Indian Ocean are said to have hit a target at a range
of about 1,500 kilometers. Israel is reported to possess a
200kg nuclear warhead, containing 6kg of plutonium, that
could be mounted on cruise missiles.
Israel has reportedly developed an air-launched cruise
missile that could be operational by 2002, called the Popeye
Turbo. The Popeye Turbo, with a range that is variously
reported at between 200 km and 350 km, would appear to
represent a turbo-jet powered cruise missile that may
incorporate avionics and other components developed for the
Popeye family of missiles. The AGM-142 HAVE NAP is a variant
of the Israeli Air Force "Popeye" missile, which uses a
solid propellant rocket motor. The Popeye II, also known as
the Have Lite, is a smaller missile with more advanced
technology. Designed for deployment on fighter aircraft,
Popeye II has a range of 150 kilometers.
The Popeye Turbo missile is probably similar to if not
identical with the Israeli submarine-launched cruise missile
carried on the Dolphin-class submarines. The baseline Popeye
missile with a range of 45 miles has a diameter of 21
inches, and is nearly 16 feet long. For comparison, the
American MK-48 heavy torpedo is 21 inches in diameter, and
19 feet long, while the BGM-109 Tomahawk SLCM is 20.4 inches
in diameter and 20.5 feet long [including the booster
motor], and the Russian SS-N-21 SLCM is similar in
configuration and dimensions to the American Tomahawk.
The reported range of 1,500 km for the SLCM tested in May
2000 is several times greater than the previously reported
range for the Popeye Turbo. However, the Popeye Turbo is a
poorly attested missile, and the open literature provides
little information on this system. Indeed, because of the
small size of the vehicle and the limited testing program to
date, it is entirely possible that even the US intelligence
community has only limited insight into the capabilities of
this system. There is no particular reason to doubt that
Israel could develop a variant of the Popeye Turbo with a
range of 1,500 km, simply by lengthening the fuel tank
associated with a 300-350 km variant reported by US
intelligence. At present it is not possible to determine
whether the US intelligence has under-estimated the range of
this missile, or whether news reports have over-estimated
the missile's range. The longer range reported in June 2000
is certainly consistent with Israeli targeting requirements.
It is generally agreed that these submarines are outfitted
with six 533-millimeter torpedo tubes suitable for the
21-inch torpedoes that are normally used on most submarines,
including those of the United States. Some reports suggest
that the submarines have a total of ten torpedo tubes -- six
533-millimeter and four 650-millimeter. Uniquely, the Soviet
navy deployed the Type 65 heavy-weight torpedo using a
650-millimeter tube. The four larger 25.5 inch diameter
torpedo tubes could be used to launch a long-range
nuclear-capable submarine-launched cruise missile (SLCM)."
____
There are two ways of looking at this development.
Many people would view an additional nuclear weapons
platform in the Middle East as a destabilizing factor, and
this would be the scripted response from the arms control
community.
Theorists going back to Herman Kahn ("On Thermonuclear War,"
Princeton University Press, 1960) have also mentioned the
stabilizing factor that submarine-launched platforms can
add - discouraging nuclear adventurism by other nuclear
powers by placing at least part of the Israeli deterrent
force beyond easy reach of a nuclear first strike.
If eliminating nuclear weapons from the Middle East
completely is not achievable (I don't think that it is - the
will doesn't exist to deny nuclear arms to Iran) then the
next best thing is to have stable deterrent forces in the
area which cannot be eliminated in a first strike by a
nuclear adventurist.
--
Vance P. Frickey
"False words are not only evil in themselves, but they
infect the soul with evil." -- Socrates
remove safety from Email address to use