RUM-139 VL-ASROC, US Anti Submarine Missile

The RUM-139 VL-ASROC is an anti-submarine missile in the ASROC family, currently built by the Lockheed Martin company for the U.S. Navy.

The design and development of the RUM-139 VL-ASROC began in 1983 when the Goodyear Aerospace company was contracted by the U.S. Navy to develop a ship-launched anti-submarine missile compatible with the new Mark-41 Vertical Launch System. The development of the VLS ASROC underwent many delays, and it was not deployed on any ships until 1993. During this development, Goodyear Aerospace was bought by the Loral aerospace company in 1986, and this defense division was in turn purchased by Lockheed Martin Aerospace in 1995.

The first VLS ASROC missile was an RUR-5 ASROC with an upgraded solid-fuel booster section and a digital guidance system. It carries a lightweight Mark 46 torpedo homing torpedo that is dropped from the rocket at a precalculated point on its trajectory, and then parachuted into the sea. Beginning in 1996, the missile was replaced by the newer RUM-139A and subsequently the RUM-139B. The torpedo has remained the Mk-46, though at one time an improved torpedo called the Mark-51 was proposed, and then cancelled. The RUM-139C is now in production since October 2004 with the Mark 54 torpedo.

The vertical-launched missile first became operational in 1993, with more than 450 having been produced by 2007. RUM-139 VL-ASROC is 4.5 meters (15 ft) in length, with a firing range of about 11.8 nm or 22 kilometers (24,000 yd).

RUM-139 VL-ASROC
Type	Standoff Anti-Submarine Weapon
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1993
Used by	United States Navy, Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, and Others
Production history
Manufacturer	Lockheed Martin
Produced	1993
Specifications
Length	4.5 meters (15 ft)
Warhead	Mark 46 torpedo
Engine	Two-stage Solid Rocket Fuel Engines
Operational range	22 kilometers (24,000 yd)
Guidance system	Inertial guidance
Launch platform	Surface Ship