RUR-5 ASROC

"ASROC" redirects here. For the vertical-launch variant, see RUM-139 VL-ASROC. For the Taiwanese manufacturer, see ASRock.
RUR-5 ASROC
ASROC Launcher on board Mölders (D186)
TypeStandoff anti-submarine ballistic missile[1]
Place of originUnited States
Service history
In service1961[2]
Used byUnited States Navy and others
Production history
DesignerNaval Ordnance Test Station Pasadena[1]
Honeywell
ManufacturerHoneywell[2]
Unit costApproximately $350,000 (not including warhead)
Specifications
Mass1,073 pounds (487 kg)[2]
Length14.75 ft (4.50 m)[2]
Diameter16.6 inches (420 mm)
Wingspan26+7⁄8 inches (680 mm)
WarheadMark 46 torpedo, 96.8 pounds (43.9 kg)[2] of PBXN-103 high explosive; 10 kt (42 TJ) W44 nuclear warhead (retired)
Detonation
mechanism
Payload specific
EngineSolid propellant rocket motor[2]
Operational
range
6 mi (9.7 km)[3]
Maximum speed Subsonic
Launch
platform
Surface ships[1]
The destroyer USS Agerholm fires an ASROC with a nuclear depth bomb in shot Dominic Swordfish (1962)
ASROC 'Matchbox' reload doors are visible in this photograph of the Japanese Asagiri-class destroyer, in 2008.
ASROC launch from USS Charles F. Adams, in 1960

The RUR-5 ASROC (for "Anti-Submarine Rocket") is an all-weather, all sea-conditions anti-submarine missile system. Developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s, it was deployed in the 1960s, updated in the 1990s, and eventually installed on over 200 USN surface ships, specifically cruisers, destroyers, and frigates. The ASROC has been deployed on scores of warships of many other navies, including Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Taiwan, Greece, Pakistan and others.[4]

  1. ^ a b c Jolie, E.W. (15 September 1978). "A Brief History of US Navy Torpedo Development: ASROC Missile". Maritime. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Thomas, Vincent C. The Almanac of Seapower 1987, Navy League of the United States (1987) ISBN 0-9610724-8-2 pp.190–91
  3. ^ Friedman, Norman (1989). The Naval Institute Guide to World Naval Weapons Systems, 1988–1989. Annapolis, MD, USA: United States Naval Institute Press. p. 414. ISBN 0-87021-793-3.
  4. ^ Friedman, Norman (May 1997). The Naval Institute Guide to World Naval Weapons Systems, 1997–1998. Annapolis, MD, USA: United States Naval Institute Press. p. 668. ISBN 1-55750-268-4.