UGM-96 Trident I

{{short description|Submarine-launched ballistic missile which entered service in 1979}} {{Infobox weapon | is_missile = yes | name = UGM-96 Trident I (C4) | image = Trident-C-4.jpg | image_size = 250 | caption = The first launch of a Trident I with a drag-reducing aerospike, from Cape Canaveral, on 18 January 1977 | origin = United States | type = SLBM | used_by = United States Navy | manufacturer = Lockheed Missiles Division | unit_cost = | production_date = | service = 1979 to 2005 | engine = Solid-fuel rocket | engine_power = | weight = {{convert|33850|kg|lb|order=flip}} | length = {{convert|10.39|m|ft|order=flip}} | height = | diameter = {{convert|1.88|m|in|order=flip}} | wingspan = | speed = | vehicle_range = {{convert|7400|km|mi|order=flip}} | ceiling = | altitude = | propellant = | filling = Up to eight W76 warheads in Mark 4 RBs with a yield of {{convert|100|ktTNT}} each. | guidance = Astro-inertial guidance | steering = | accuracy = CEP: 229-500 m<ref>{{cite report |author1=Matthew G. McKinzie |author2=Thomas B. Cochran |author3=Robert S. Norris |author4=William M. Arkin |title=THE U.S. NUCLEAR WAR PLAN: A TIME FOR CHANGE |url=https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/us-nuclear-war-plan-report.pdf |publisher=Natural Resources Defense Council |page=19 |access-date=2021-09-01 |archive-date=2021-07-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210731012120/https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/us-nuclear-war-plan-report.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> | launch_platform = Ballistic Missile Submarine }}

The '''UGM-96 Trident I''', or '''Trident C4''', was an American submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Sunnyvale, California. First deployed in 1979, the Trident I replaced the Poseidon missile. The Trident was intended to have longer range than the Poseidon, allowing the fleet to maintain a longer distance from the target, enhancing survivability. It was retired in 2005, having been replaced by the Trident II.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=20913 | title=USS Alabama Offloads Last of C4 Trident Missiles | publisher=US Navy | work=navy.mil | date=November 5, 2005 | access-date=May 16, 2012 | author=Popejoy, Mary | archive-date=September 12, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070912180153/https://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=20913 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Lennox |first=Duncan |url=http://archive.org/details/janes-strategic-weapon-systems-issue-38-2003 |title=Jane's strategic weapons systems |date=1989 |publisher=Coulsdon, Surry, Eng. ; Alexandria, VA : Jane's Information Group |isbn=978-0-7106-0880-2}}</ref>

The missile was a three-stage, solid-fueled system, capable of carrying up to eight W76 warheads in the Mark 4 RB.

Twelve {{Sclass|James Madison|submarine|5}}- and {{Sclass|Benjamin Franklin|submarine|2}}s were retrofitted with Trident I missiles, which replaced older Poseidon missiles. The first eight {{Sclass|Ohio|submarine}}s were armed with Trident I missiles. The ''Ohio''-class submarines were designed for the Trident II missiles, but used Trident I missiles until the Trident II missiles became available.<ref name=":0" />

In 1980, the Royal Navy requested Trident I missiles under the Polaris Sales Agreement. In 1982, the agreement was changed to supply Trident II instead.

==See also== * Trident (missile) * UGM-133 Trident II

==References== {{reflist}}

Category:Cold War missiles of the United States Category:Nuclear missiles of the United States Category:Cold War submarine-launched ballistic missiles of the United States UGM-096 Category:Military equipment introduced in the 1970s