McDonnell Douglas DC-10-based ALCM carrier

[Triton]

I found this piece of artwork in the McDonnell Douglas Story. Does anyone know any details about the McDonnell Douglas DC-10-based ALCM carrier.

 

[Rickshaw]

I've often wondered about the complex handling systems that they invariably include in these ALCM carriers. Wouldn't it be easier to design a new fuselage, using the existing wings from say a civil aircraft but which all the ALCMs to be launched near simultaneously, rather than one which launches them successively, one or two at a time?

 

[fightingirish]

LOL, was searching for ALCM carriers, some results were leading to http://archive.aviationweek.com/issue/19780612/ - you could see pages thumbnails in ARTICLES and pics in IMAGES
But there's no pages on the link, except the cover (not the only case with "Every Issue. Every Article. Every Ad". proclamation).
I wrote four of fifth times to tech support and finally have reached a result - now this issue pages and images are just off the search results...

MDD DC-10 and YC-15 ALCM carrier concepts.
Source: Aviation Week & Space Technology, June-12th-1978, pages 56 & 57

 

[Foo Fighter]

Any half decent maritime recce aircraft will do a better job, the Nimrod an even better job. The weapons bay is HUGE.

 

[JohnR]

A conventionally laid out bomber such as a B1 has to be a more reliable and less complex solution, there must be so many different ways for the handling system of either option to go wrong.

 

[Foo Fighter]

Even a B-52 could do the job and none of those listed in the past two entries would require expensive mods either.

 

[Avimimus]

Isn't a DC-10 a lot cheaper to operate than a B-52? Also cheaper to modify than it is to go with a clean build design?

Anyway, for clean sheet designs, there is a rather apocalyptic span-loader here: http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,6549.msg164144.html#msg164144

That said, the launcher is even more complicated!