Alfa was the designation of an Italian

ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...

program that started in 1971 under the control of the GRS (Gruppo di Realizzazione Speciale Interforze). It was related to the Polaris A-3 missile.

Development

Born from the development effort for efficient solid-propellant rocket engines, the Alfa was planned as a two-stage missile. Test launches with an upper stage mockup took place between 1973 and 1975, from

Salto di Quirra Salto di Quirra is a restricted weapons testing range and rocket launching site near Perdasdefogu on Sardinia. It is the largest military range in Italy, composed of 12000 hectares of land owned by the Italian Ministry of Defence and one of the l ...

The Alfa was long and had a diameter of . The first stage of the Alfa was long and contained 6 t of solid rocket fuel. It supplied a thrust of 232 kN for a duration of 57 seconds. It could carry a one tonne warhead for a range of 1,600 kilometres (990 mi), placing

European Russia European Russia (russian: Европейская Россия, russian: европейская часть России, label=none) is the western and most populated part of Russia. It is geographically situated in Europe, as opposed to the cou ...

and Moscow in range of the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

has been active in the space sector since 1957, conducting launch and control operations from the Luigi Broglio Space Centre. The advanced Scout and

Vega launcher Vega ( it, Vettore Europeo di Generazione Avanzata, or french: Vecteur européen de génération avancée, or en, European Vector of Advanced Generation, meaning "Advanced generation European carrier rocket") is an expendable launch system in ...

s currently used by the

European Space Agency , owners = , headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France , coordinates = , spaceport = Guiana Space Centre , seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png , seal_size = 130px , image = Views in the Main Control Room (1205 ...

(ESA) derive their technological basis partially from Alfa studies.

References

{{Nuclear-weapon-stub Medium-range ballistic missiles

Development

See also

References