Why would the USA strike Iran? All we have to do is send them a letter of congratulations for joining the "nuclear club". Explain to the populace that for entry into the "club", for all their diligent hard work, they win a prize: their very own Trident II D5 missile(s) targeted on Iran. Make sure they are sent a detailed description of the capability of the Trident II D5 and take a photo of the Sperry Univac Mark 98 missile control system console showing the lat. and long. of each independent target in Iran. Explain to them in excruciating detail what each 100 kiloton warhead would obliterate. End the congratulatory note with the suggestion that they "play nice". After all they have asserted their desire to participate. Now there's 3 dimensional chess.....
The Ohio class submarine is equipped with the Trident strategic ballistic missile from Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space. The Trident was built in two versions, Trident I (C4), which is being phased out, and the larger and longer range Trident II (D5), which entered service in 1990. The first eight submarines, (SSBN 726 to 733 inclusive) were equipped with Trident I and the following ten (SSBN 734 to 743) carry the Trident II. Conversion of the four Trident I submarines remaining after START II (Henry M. Jackson, Alabama, Alaska and Nevada), to Trident II began in 2000 and is planned to complete in 2008. Lockheed Martin received a contract in January 2002 for the production of 12 Trident II missiles for the four submarines.
The submarine has the capacity for 24 Trident missile tubes in two rows of 12. The dimensions of the Trident II missile are length 1,360cm x diameter 210cm and the weight is 59,000kg. The three-stage solid fuel rocket motor is built by ATK (Alliant Techsystems) Thiokol Propulsion. The US Navy gives the range as "greater than 7,360km" but this could be up to 12,000km depending on the payload mix. Missile guidance is provided by an inertial navigation system, supported by stellar navigation. Trident II is capable of carrying up to twelve MIRVs (multiple independent re-entry vehicles), each with a yield of 100 kilotons, although the SALT treaty limits this number to eight per missile. The circle of equal probability (the radius of the circle within which half the strikes will impact) is less than 150m. The Sperry Univac Mark 98 missile control system controls the 24 missiles.
