MK4/SE Surelock
United States Navy. Demonstration Model. Demonstration Model--equipment. Lockheed Martin completed a 23-year production run of Mk4 reentry body assembly hardware kits used to house nuclear warheads in the Trident I C4 and Trident II D5 submarine launched ballistic missile arsenal. The Mk4 reentry system, developed jointly in the early 1970's by the Navy Strategic Systems Programs and the Department of Energy (DOE), is specifically designed to house the missile's W76 nuclear warhead. The W76 is a United States thermonuclear warhead, designed for use on the UGM-96 Trident I sea-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) and subsequently moved to the UGM-133 Trident II. The first variant, the W76 mod 0 (W76-0) was manufactured from 1978 to 1987, and was gradually replaced by the W76 mod 1 (W76-1) between 2008 and 2018, completely replacing the Mod 0 in the active stockpile. In 2018 it was announced that some Mod 1 warheads would be converted to a new W76 mod 2 (W76-2) version. The first Mod 2 warheads were deployed in late 2019. The W76-0 was fitted inside a Mk4 reentry vehicle (reentry body in US Navy parlance) while the W76-1 and -2 are fitted inside the new Mk4A reentry vehicle. This MK4/SE Surelock demonstration model may have been produced by Lockheed Martin. The Mk4 SE Surelock is a demonstration model for a system to allow a Mk4 Reentry Body (not Vehicle, this is for the Navy) to be lifted and attached to various mounting fixtures. The proposed system was accepted, and became "Captive Bolts"
The need for such a system revolved around the fact that the Mk4 arrives mounted in a container, and must then be detached from that, and lifted to a series of mounting stands associated with various RB tests and checks.
The system accomplishes this through the use of a precision adjustable screw arrangement. By turning the screw, settings can be achieved that
- allow the RB to be detached from its container
- allow a lifting fixture to be attached to the Surelock system, and thus the RB
- allow the hoisted RB to be then attached to any of the required mounting fixtures
- allow the lifting fixture to be removed from the Surelock
The model itself is comprised to represent three things:
- the wide bottom disc is a "mounting fixture"
- the second smaller disc, plus the screw assembly, is "the RB" (or specifically the RB and the "Captive Bolt" that is part of the RB, or more specifically part of the RBA or RB Assembly)
- the yellow collar is a "lifting fixture"
By turning the screw one can achieve two new configurations:
- the lifting collar can be removed, as it would be after the RB has been placed and secured onto a mounting fixture
- the mounting fixture (the wide base) can be firmly attached (representing a mounted RB) or released (i.e., when the RB is be lifted to the next mounting fixture)
"The Manual" is the typed set of instructions on the underneath of the base. Condition: Very good.
Keywords: Nuclear Weapons, Navy Special Weapons, MK4, Mk4, Surelock, Demonstration Model, Reentry Body, Captive Bolts, Lifting Fixture, Mounting Fixture, Screw Assembly, Precision Adjustable Screw, RB Assembly
[Book #81637]
Price: $5,000.00