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Mark 143 Armored Box Launcher

7,130 EasternPatrick  2.6 years ago

DO NOT launch this thing while in slow motion. I warned you.

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The Mark 143 Armored Box Launcher (ABL) is a four-round protected launch container for the BGM-109 Tomahawk Cruise Missile.

Fitted to the Iowa-class battleship following their 1980s recommissioning upgrade, each ABL contains four ready-to-fire Tomahawks. The use of ABLs on these vessels rather than a non-armored solution was necessitated to enable the battleships to continue to exploit the capability provided by their heavy armor and reduce the vulnerability of the delicate missiles within. Eight ABLs were fitted to each of the four recommissioned battleships, providing 32 weapons to each ship. Some of the original dual 5 inch (127 mm) gun mounts were removed to fit the ABLs.

As well as being fitted on to the United States Navy's Iowa-class battleships, this system was also fitted on the nuclear-powered cruisers, including the USS Long Beach and the Virginia class as well as some Spruance class. The cruisers and destroyers were fitted with two ABLs each for a total of 8 missiles.

Since then the Armored Box Launcher missile system has been phased out in favor of the more flexible, larger capacity Vertical Launching System (VLS).

The Armored Box Launcher shares one common handicap with the Vertical Launching System: It can not be reloaded at sea. The ship must return to port in order to receive and load her ABLs.

Source: Wikipedia


Controls and Activation group

  • AG 1: Activate the system

Armament

  • 4x BGM-109 Tomahawk

ENJOY!

General Characteristics

  • Successors 1 airplane(s) +7 bonus
  • Created On Android
  • Wingspan 8.5ft (2.6m)
  • Length 26.8ft (8.2m)
  • Height 8.9ft (2.7m)
  • Empty Weight 393,414lbs (178,449kg)
  • Loaded Weight 393,414lbs (178,449kg)

Performance

  • Wing Loading 29,239.5lbs/ft2 (142,759.8kg/m2)
  • Wing Area 13.5ft2 (1.3m2)
  • Drag Points 9155

Parts

  • Number of Parts 169
  • Control Surfaces 0
  • Performance Cost 663