Spartan/Sprint ABM and Derivatives

[Hanz2k]

Sam Cohen wrote an open source book about whole neutron bomb story. Worth to read.

Confessions of the father of the neutron bomb : Samuel T. Cohen : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Samuel T. Cohen, Confessions of the father of the neutron bomb (ebook), copyright permission for free internet hosting of the book in its entire, unaltered...

archive.org

 

[bobbymike]

The Truth about the Neutron Bomb

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0688016464?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_image

 

[Ravinoff]

Something I've always wondered, why didn't the technology of the Sprint motor ever turn up elsewhere? I understand that the speeds it produced could be characterized as...excessive due to the whole issue of plasma communications interference, but it feels like a missile that can do zero to Mach 10 in five seconds should have some applications other than reentry vehicle interception. Scary-fast SAM/AAM? Some kind of SRAM replacement? I don't know, it just seems like there has to be some application for that.

 

[NMaude]

I understand that the speeds it produced could be characterized as...excessive due to the whole issue of plasma communications interference,

By all accounts they'd found a way to deal with the command uplink problems caused by the plasma-sheath and those techniques are IIRC still classified.

 

[Hanz2k]

Something I've always wondered, why didn't the technology of the Sprint motor ever turn up elsewhere?

The price for the speed was mass - Sprint was silo launched 3400kg missile with more or less 40km range. Sprint need such speed to catch RV coming at 2-3 kms before nuclear detonation will be triggered. The question what else need such speed, that justify the mass. And technologically nothing really changed - take a look how big is ARRW.

 

[bobbymike]

The price for the speed was mass - Sprint was silo launched 3400kg missile with more or less 40km range. Sprint need such speed to catch RV coming at 2-3 kms before nuclear detonation will be triggered. The question what else need such speed, that justify the mass. And technologically nothing really changed - take a look how big is ARRW.

I’d like to accelerate a large ALBM to high Mach number carrying a 1000 lbs warhead on a HGV.

 

[Scott Kenny]

Something I've always wondered, why didn't the technology of the Sprint motor ever turn up elsewhere? I understand that the speeds it produced could be characterized as...excessive due to the whole issue of plasma communications interference, but it feels like a missile that can do zero to Mach 10 in five seconds should have some applications other than reentry vehicle interception. Scary-fast SAM/AAM? Some kind of SRAM replacement? I don't know, it just seems like there has to be some application for that.

The sheer speed is really only applicable against things with nuclear warheads. You need something fast to get to the incoming nuke to defeat it before it goes boom.

IIRC most of the Sprint was simply a crapton of fuel burning really fast. Nothing particularly exotic, about like a CRV7 engine.

I believe that now the only two missions for Sprint tech is ABMs and anti-hypersonics.