Storm-1

Storm-1 (BTTV) [US Army]

Storm-1 (MTTV) [US Army]

The Storm-1 is a low-cost target launch vehicle consisting of a Sergeant first stage and a M-57A1 (Minuteman-2 third stage) as second stage. A Pershing-2 reentry vehicle is carried. Launches are carried out at White Sands.

The STORM first stage, the Sergeant XM100, is a single nozzle booster developed by Thiokol Corporation. It was originally designed for use as a surface-to-surface booster for the Sergeant missile system in 1961. The Sergeant XM100 is equipped with an aft skirt assembly containing three Pershing 1A jet vane/air vane (articulated aileron type air vanes mounted in tailfins) and hydro-pac actuator assemblies.

The STORM second stage, the M57A1, is a Minuteman I and II third stage booster developed by Hercules Powder Company. The M57A1 is equipped with an explosive thrust termination system which allows the STORM target to fly multiple trajectories of varying ranges and velocities within the confines of White Sands Missile Range (WSMR).

The combination of these two motors allows the STORM target to fly at a velocity of approximately 1.5 km/sec with a range that can readily exceed 500 km with minimal payload.

The STORM BTTV is a threat representative reentry vehicle approximately 3.3 meters in length and approximately one meter in diameter that can be configured to perform with either a high or low Radar Cross Section (RCS) depending on the mission objectives. The BTTV is capable of carrying either a Bulk Chemical Experiment (BCE) payload (Figure 11) composed of 189kg of TEM/PMMA chemical simulant or a Submunition Chemical Experiment (SCE) payload made up of 38 canisters arranged within three tiers of 10, 10, and 12 over 6 substacks.

The MTTV version of the STORM system is made up of a modified Pershing II RV as its front end. The Pershing II RV is the only available maneuvering treaty-compliant U.S. Theater Ballistic Missile RV.

STORM flies most of its missions out of Sulf Site at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico (WSMR) (Figure 14). It has performed as a target for intercept for both the PATRIOT Advanced Capability (PAC-2) and PATRIOT Multi-Mode Seeker Demonstration (MMSD). It has also been successfully intercepted by the Extended Range Interceptor (ERINT) target system on two occasions.