Design and employment A conventionally configured cruise missile, the BGM-109 was essentially a small, pilotless flying machine, powered by a
turbofan engine. Unlike
ballistic missiles, whose aimpoint is usually determined by gravitic trajectories, a cruise missile is capable of complicated aerial manoeuvres, and can fly a range of predetermined flight plans. Also, it flies at much lower altitudes than a ballistic missile, typically with a
terrain-hugging flight plan. The trade-off for this low-observability flight is strike time; cruise missiles travel far more slowly than a ballistic weapon, and the GLCM was typical in this regard. GLCM was developed as a ground-launched variant of the
Tomahawk cruise missile in use by the
U.S. Navy (along with an undeveloped
air-launched version, the Medium Range Air to Surface Missile (MRASM)). Unlike other variants of the Tomahawk, the GLCM carried only a
W84 thermonuclear warhead; no conventional capability was provided. The W84 warhead is a 0.2–150kt
variable-yield weapon. This yield contrasts with the yield of the
W80 warhead found on other versions of the Tomahawk and on the ALCM from which the W84 was derived, which has a selectable yield of 5 or 150 kt. The official range of the weapon was . Like other U.S.
cruise missiles of this period, accuracy after more than 2000 km of flight was approximately 30 meters. The missile was entirely
subsonic, powered by a
turbofan engine with a
rocket booster assisting at launch. Militarily, the GLCM was targeted against fixed targets—at the outer edge of its range, the missile's flight time with its subsonic
turbofan was more than hours. The missiles were launched from an elevated launcher, with the missile ejected from its canister for about 13 seconds of
solid rocket booster flight. The fins extended at 4 seconds, the air inlet and wings deployed at 10 seconds and the jet engine started at the end of the boost phase. Flying at a low level, the missile was guided by
TERCOM (terrain contour matching) to the target. This contrasted strongly with
Pershing II, which had a flight time of 10–15 minutes. However, the range of the GLCM gave it the ability to strike deep within then-
Soviet territory, and the
missile guidance and low
radar cross-section would have made it far more difficult to intercept a GLCM even if the launch was detected in time. BGM-109G personnel were trained at
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, by the
868th Tactical Missile Training Squadron from 1 July 1981. On 1 October 1985, the squadron became part of the 868th Tactical Missile Training Group. The group and squadron were inactivated on 31 May 1990. An area near
Fort Huachuca, Arizona was used for field training for GLCM flights. GLCM testing was conducted at the
Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, with many of the people involved in the testing going to operational wings as they were activated.
NATO deployment and protests , England. 4 GAMAs, 1 per flight, each holding 16 missiles, a total 64 missiles. Molesworth was completely reconstructed between 1981 and 1985, being transformed from a largely abandoned
World War II Eighth Air Force B-17 base to a modern
NATO facility. The large World War II "J" type hangar in the upper left was retained as a memorial to the World War II 303d Bombardment Group. Both
Bob Hope and
Glenn Miller performed
USO shows in that hangar during the war years. BGM-109G missiles would be based at six locations throughout Europe; in the United Kingdom (at
RAF Greenham Common and
RAF Molesworth), Belgium,
Woensdrecht AB Netherlands, Germany, and
Comiso Air Station in Italy. Each location had its own unique problems, but all required extensive construction by the USAF. Initial operating capability (IOC) occurred in 1983. Normal basing was in
blast shelters at military installations. Each BGM-109G station was controlled by a Wing that consisted of a Tactical Missile Squadron (TMS), which was responsible for operation and deployment of the missiles; and a Tactical Missile Maintenance Squadron (TMMS), which was responsible for the support of the system. Each TMS consisted of several flights, made up of 69 people and 22 vehicles. However, the USSR did have submarine-launched missiles (i.e.
Golf and
Hotel class
SSBNs armed with
R-27 Zyb and
SS-N-5s) available during this time, so any fears of a decapitating first strike were not necessarily justified.
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty Despite initial fears of greater instability, the deployment of GLCM ultimately caused Soviet leaders to enter into negotiations for, and finally, sign off on, the
INF treaty. The recognition by Soviet leaders of the threat posed by the GLCM and
Pershing II missiles made them far more inclined to agree to negotiate their own intermediate-range weapons, especially the SS-20, out of service, in exchange for the elimination of the threat posed by the GLCM and the Pershing II. Unlike
SALT II or
START I, which set limits to maximum nuclear arsenals, the
INF Treaty banned whole categories of intermediate-range
tactical nuclear weapons outright. All ground-launched
cruise missiles and
ballistic missiles with ranges greater than 500 but less than 5500 kilometers were barred to the U.S. and USSR under this treaty. This meant the withdrawal of GLCM and Pershing II on the American side. The Soviets withdrew the GLCM's most direct counterpart, the
SSC-4 or RK-55, and its supersonic follow-on, the
SSC-X-5. In addition, various Soviet
MRBMs and
IRBMs were withdrawn: the
SS-4 Sandal,
SS-5 Skean,
SS-12 Scaleboard,
SS-20 Saber,
SS-22 Scaleboard B, and
SS-23 Spider. All of these equivalent weapons had been developed and deployed against NATO forces before the introduction of the GLCM, despite the categorization of the GLCM deployment by communists as 'aggressive'. GLCM was removed from Europe beginning in 1988, and over the next three and a half years all units were transported to Davis Monthan AFB and destroyed or converted into displays by 1991. Eight missiles survive for inert static display only. President
Donald Trump announced on 20 October 2018 that he was withdrawing the U.S. from the INF treaty, citing Russian non-compliance. The United States formally withdrew from the treaty on 2 August 2019.
USAF BGM-109G GLCM units •
38th Tactical Missile Wing -
Pydna Missile Base at
Wüschheim AB,
West Germany (1985–1990) File:38th Tactical Missile Wing - Emblem.png|38th Tactical Missile Wing File:303d Tactical Missile Wing - Emblem.png|303d Tactical Missile Wing File:485th Air Expeditionary Wing.png|485th Tactical Missile Wing File:486th Air Expeditionary Wing.PNG|486th Tactical Missile Wing File:487tmissielwing-patch.jpg|487th Tactical Missile Wing File:501st Combat Support Wing.png|501st Tactical Missile Wing File:868th Tactical Missile Training Group - Emblem.png|868th Tactical Missile Training Group File:11th Tactical Missile Squadron - Emblem.png|11th Tactical Missile Squadron File:71stbombsquadron.jpg|71st Tactical Missile Squadron File:87th Tactical Missile Squadron - Emblerm.png|87th Tactical Missile Squadron File:89th Tactical Missile Squadron - GLCM - Emblem.png|89th Tactical Missile Squadron File:302d Tactical Missile Squadron - Emblem.png|302d Tactical Missile Squadron File:868th Tactical Missile Training Squadron - Emblem.png|868th Tactical Missile Training Squadron ==See also==