Nichols Martin
The U.S. Navy launched two updated Lockheed Martin-built missiles from an Ohio-class submarine during a test held Monday off the coast of southern California.
Lockheed said Wednesday the test aimed to demonstrate the readiness of USS Nebraska‘s crew and the Trident II D5 Life Extension missile configuration through the Demonstration and Shakedown Operation-28 test.
“Instead of warheads, the missiles carried test kits and instrumentation to give us troves of information about flight and subsystem performance,” said Eric Scherff, vice president of Navy strategic programs at Lockheed.
Scherff added that the government-industry team will use data in efforts to develop maintenance and sustainment plans for the updated Trident fleet.
Lockheed equipped the D2 LE configuration with modern electronics and avionics subsystems.
The upgrades are meant to extend the service life of the missile system used on U.S. and U.K. submarines through the 2040s.
