BGM-109
GRYPHON
The USAF had done
without a GLCM since the
retirement of
Mace in the early 1970s, but the idea still had its proponents,
especially in light of the massive losses of U.S.-supplied aircraft
suffered by Israel in the 1972 war. Even more formidable Soviet air
defenses awaited NATO aircraft in Europe, and even with new ECM the
viability of a theater nuclear force built solely around manned
aircraft had to be called into question.
preserved
GLCM (USAF photo)
The basic Navy Tomahawk SLCM design lent itself well to use as a
mobile
GLCM, and the BGM-109G paralleled the shipboard nuclear versions in
many ways. There were some differences, such as the substitution of the
W84 warhead for the SLCM's W80; this was still derived from the B61
bomb, with a maximum yield of 150 kilotons, but with different PAL
equipment and other changes. GLCM could also have been fitted with the
W70 enhanced radiation warhead, but this was not done. The official
name of the Air Force version was changed to Gryphon.
Each GLCM flight was centered around four Transporter-Erector Launchers
and two launch control vehicles. In order to provide physical security
as well as to avoid a force posture that could be construed as
preparations for a first strike, the vehicles would be normally kept in
garrison. When engaged in exercises or in times of tension, the flights
would be flushed out into the countryside to set up in forward
positions, with the launchers and control centers being internetted by
fiber optic lines. GLCM security forces, which had to be on guard
against protesters in peacetime, would in times of war or crisis would
be tasked with countering attempts by Soviet Spetsnaz
special forces to
locate and take out the Gryphons before they could be used.
Although the GLCM was for all intents and purposes a strategic weapon,
capable of ranging far into the eastern USSR, control of the weapons
system would be in the hands of Tactical Air Command, not SAC.
Deployment of the BGM-109 system to the NATO theater began in late
1983, even as the other U.S. INF component, the Army's Pershing II,
also began arriving in Europe. The Tactical Missile Wings that would
operate the Gryphon included the 501st TMW from RAF Greenham Common in
the UK, the 303rd at Molesworth, England, the 38th TMW at Wuescheim Air
Station, West Germany, the 487th at Comiso AS, Italy, and the 485th at
Florennes AB, Belgium. Protests against the
“cruise” began
long before the system was operationally deployed, and the furor over
the new missiles was certainly one of the major challenges facing NATO
government in the early to mid 1980s.
The signing of the INF Treaty put a premature end to GLCM deployment,
with the 486th TMW at Woensdhrecht in the Netherlands not going into
operation. On the Soviet side, there were no operational GLCMs, but
they did have to dispose of the prototype SS-CX-4 missiles. The
withdrawal of GLCMs began in April 1990, when the 38th TMW loaded eight
missiles and four TELs aboard a C-5
Galaxy at Hahn Airbase for
shipment
back to the US for destruction. Elimination of the GLCM system was
complete by the spring of 1991, although the W84
warheads have been kept in reserve.
sources:
“Ground-Launched Cruise Missile Slips” Aviation
Week & Space Technology August 6, 1979 p.15
“Ground-Launched Cruise Missile Tested” Aviation
Week & Space Technology January 14, 1980 p.17 4 illustrations
“GLCM Flight Tests Scheduled” Aviation Week
& Space Technology May 26, 1980 p.79
“Cruise Missile Project Delayed” Aviation Week
& Space Technology October 20, 1980 p.24-25
“Cruise Missiles Are Operational In Belgium”
Aviation Week & Space Technology March 25, 1985 p.28-29
“U.S. Withdraws First ‘Flight’ Of Cruise
Missiles
From Germany” Aviation Week & Space Technology April
23, 1990
p.68 1 illustration