The Hard Mobile Launcher (HML) is a mobile

radiation-hardened Radiation hardening is the process of making electronic components and circuits resistant to damage or malfunction caused by high levels of ionizing radiation (particle radiation and high-energy electromagnetic radiation), especially for environm ...

truck

transporter erector launcher A transporter erector launcher (TEL) is a missile vehicle with an integrated tractor unit that can carry, elevate to firing position and launch one or more missiles. History Such vehicles exist for both surface-to-air missiles and surface-to-su ...

designed to facilitate the transport and launching of the

MGM-134 Midgetman The MGM-134A Midgetman, also known as the Small Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, was an intercontinental ballistic missile developed by the United States Air Force. The system was mobile and could be set up rapidly, allowing it to move to a ne ...

missile.

Overview

It can travel at speeds of up to 55 mph on the road and it also has off-road capabilities. The vehicle also has a trailer mounted plow which can be used to dig the launcher into the earth in order to help protect it were it within the vicinity of a nuclear detonation. The vehicle weighs a total of 108,400 kg (239,000 pounds), with a length of over 33.5m (110 feet) and it has the capability to transport objects weighing up to 36,300 kg (80,000 pounds). It is powered by a Rolls-Royce Perkins diesel engine which produces 1200 hp and controls all 8 wheels using an electro-hydraulic transmission.

Design and testing

Two teams were assigned to develop a vehicle.

Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

developed a tracked tractor (Mobil-Trac System) while

Martin Marietta The Martin Marietta Corporation was an American company founded in 1961 through the merger of Glenn L. Martin Company and American-Marietta Corporation. In 1995, it merged with Lockheed Corporation to form Lockheed Martin. History Martin Mari ...

was the system integrator and also built the Mobility Test Bed missile trailer. A second team consisting of

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...

Aerospace and Electronics' Loral Defense Systems Division (

Goodyear Aerospace Goodyear Aerospace Corporation (GAC) was the aerospace and defense subsidiary of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. The company was originally operated as a division within Goodyear as the Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation, part of a joint project ...

) built an eight wheel drive vehicle and trailer. The Air Force selected the Boeing-Loral prototype. Several vehicles were delivered to the US Air Force by December 1986. The Air Force tested the vehicle until 1991, after which development of the MGM-134 missile project ceased, leading to the project's cancellation.

NMUSAF Museum acquisition

Following the cancellation of the MGM-134 missile project, the last of the engineering models was acquired by the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Ohio in 1992. It is no longer on display and was given to the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office. The Hard Mobile Launcher at Wright Patterson Air Force Base was sold for scrap in July 2015. The lot number was 5650, the auction event ID was 40039. The event notice is still online as of October 2017. It was broken up in September 2015.

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Intercontinental ballistic missiles of the United States Missile launchers Eight-wheel drive Tracked military vehicles