Pershing II Missile - Washington, DC - Static Aircraft Displays on Waymarking.com

Wikipedia (visit link) informs us:

"The Pershing II Weapon System was a solid-fueled two-stage ballistic missile designed and built by Martin Marietta to replace the Pershing 1a Field Artillery Missile System as the United States Army's primary nuclear-capable theater-level weapon. The U.S. Army replaced the Pershing 1a with the Pershing II Weapon System in 1983 while the German Air Force retained Pershing 1a until all Pershings were eliminated in 1991. The U.S. Army Missile Command (MICOM) managed the development and improvements while the Field Artillery Branch deployed the systems and developed tactical doctrine.

Development

Development began in 1973 for an updated Pershing. The Pershing 1a 400 kt warhead was greatly over-powered for the quick reaction alert (QRA) mission and a smaller warhead required greater accuracy. The contract went to Martin Marietta in 1975 with the first development launches began in 1977. Pershing II was to use the new W85 warhead with a five to 50 kt variable yield or an earth-penetrator W86 warhead. The warhead was packaged in a maneuverable reentry vehicle (MARV) with active radar guidance and would use the existing rocket motors. Requests from Israel to buy the new Pershing II were rejected in 1975.

The Soviet Union began deployment of the SS-20 Saber in 1976. Since the first version of the SS-20 had a range of 2,700 miles (4,300 km) and two warheads, the Pershing II requirement was changed to increase the range to 900 miles (1,400 km), giving the ability to reach targets in eastern Ukraine, Belarus or Lithuania. The NATO Double-Track Decision was made to deploy both the medium range Pershing and the longer range, but slower BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile (GLCM) to strike potential targets farther to the east. The Pershing II with the longer-range motors was initially referred to as Pershing II Extended Range (PIIXR), then later as Pershing II.

Both the hard target capability and W86 nuclear warhead were canceled in 1980, and all production Pershing II missiles carried the W85. A concept warhead using kinetic energy penetrators for counter-airfield operations never materialized."

Type of Aircraft: (make/model): Pershing II Missile Construction:: original aircraft Location (park, airport, museum, etc.): Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum. inside / outside: inside Access restrictions: Museum is free Tail Number: (S/N): Not listed Other Information:: Not listed

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