165-582: The LGM-118 Peacekeeper , originally known as the MX for "Missile, Experimental", was a MIRV -capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) produced and deployed by the United States from 1986 to 2005. The missile could carry up to eleven Mark 21 reentry vehicles (although treaties limited its actual payload to 10), each armed with a 300- kiloton W87 warhead . Initial plans called for building and deploying 100 MX ICBMs, but budgetary concerns limited
330-438: A ballistic missile deploys multiple warheads above a single aimpoint which then drift apart, producing a cluster bomb-like effect. These warheads are not individually targetable. The advantage of an MRV over a single warhead is the increased effectiveness due to the greater coverage; this increases the overall damage produced within the center of the pattern, making it far greater than the damage possible from any single warhead in
495-480: A circular error probable (CEP) of about 0.1 miles (160 m), and especially the ability to be quickly re-programmed to attack any targets needed. In comparison, the Minuteman II had a selection of eight targets, any one of which could be quickly selected for attack, but otherwise selecting a target outside this pre-computed list was not something that could be done "on the fly". WS-120A's preferred basing mode
660-537: A " playboy ", describing his performance in the Senate and the House as "pathetic" on another occasion, saying that he was "smart enough, but he doesn't like the grunt work". Author John T. Shaw acknowledges that while his Senate career is not associated with acts of "historic statesmanship" or "novel political thought," Kennedy made modest contributions as a legislator, drafting more than 300 bills to assist Massachusetts and
825-538: A Bachelor of Arts in government, concentrating on international affairs . That fall, he enrolled at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and audited classes, but he left after a semester to help his father complete his memoirs as an American ambassador. In early 1941, Kennedy toured South America. Kennedy planned to attend Yale Law School , but canceled when American entry into World War II seemed imminent. In 1940, Kennedy attempted to enter
990-596: A Commission on Strategic Forces, better known as the Scowcroft Commission. In overall terms, the most important conclusion of the Scowcroft Commission was that the " window of vulnerability " in regard to the Soviet capability to attack US ICBMs never existed in the first place. The report examined a wide array of potential attack scenarios, and demonstrated that none allowed the Soviets to significantly blunt
1155-431: A Soviet launch, with ample time to plan a response. However, it would not be until much later in the sequence of events that land-based radars would be able to track the incoming individual warheads and determine the targets. In the case of a limited counterforce attack, it would be desirable to wait until the individual targeted silos were determined, determine which Soviet missiles had not been launched, and then launch only
1320-596: A US response, nor seriously limit its options in the flexible response policy. Delivered 6 April 1983, the report suggested deploying 100 MX in existing Minuteman silos as a "demonstration of national will", but in other ways basically suggested eliminating both MX and Minuteman and replacing them with a small single-warhead mobile ICBM. On 10 August, the Secretary of Defense ordered 100 Peacekeepers be deployed at Warren AFB in Wyoming and began development of what became
1485-420: A badly burned crewman to the island with a life jacket strap clenched between his teeth. From there, Kennedy and his subordinate, Ensign George Ross, made forays through the coral islands, searching for help. When they encountered an English-speaking native with a canoe, Kennedy carved his location on a coconut shell and requested a boat rescue. Seven days after the collision, with the coconut message delivered,
1650-502: A brief stint in journalism, Kennedy represented a working-class Boston district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1947 to 1953. He was subsequently elected to the U.S. Senate , serving as the junior senator for Massachusetts from 1953 to 1960. While in the Senate, Kennedy published his book, Profiles in Courage , which won a Pulitzer Prize . Kennedy ran in the 1960 presidential election . His campaign gained momentum after
1815-528: A completely protected and mobile platform, what capabilities did MX add? A compromise was eventually developed in mid-1983. Under this scheme, 100 missiles would be deployed in existing Minuteman silos to "show national will". The plan also called for the removal of the old and accident-prone liquid fueled Titan II from use. However, this did not address the problem the MX was originally intended to solve, providing high survivability. This would later be addressed through
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#17327653512761980-490: A covert purpose to map mass concentrations and determine local gravity anomalies , in order to improve accuracies of ballistic missiles. Accuracy is expressed as circular error probable (CEP). This is the radius of the circle that the warhead has a 50 percent chance of falling into when aimed at the center. CEP is about 90–100 m for the Trident II and Peacekeeper missiles. A multiple re-entry vehicle (MRV) system for
2145-602: A damaging, but not decisive, attack on the US ICBM fleet. This scenario was of deep concern to the Air Force as it became ever more dependent on Minuteman for most strategic missions. The Air Force had depended on engineering support from TRW during the early days of the development of their ICBM force. In 1960 a number of TRW and other engineers involved in the ICBM program formed The Aerospace Corporation , initially working on
2310-492: A different target. The concept is almost invariably associated with intercontinental ballistic missiles carrying thermonuclear warheads , even if not strictly being limited to them. An intermediate case is the multiple reentry vehicle (MRV) missile which carries several warheads which are dispersed but not individually aimed. All nuclear-weapon states except Pakistan and North Korea are currently confirmed to have deployed MIRV missile systems. The first true MIRV design
2475-509: A force of approximately 30 missiles was going to be a reasonable deterrent, each missile would need to carry 20 or more warheads. To launch them, the study introduced the "ICBM-X", a massive new 156-inch (400 cm) diameter design, well over twice the diameter of the existing LGM-30 Minuteman , and larger even than the Titan II "heavy" design at 120 inches (300 cm). Any of the "Golden Arrow" concepts would be extremely expensive, and in
2640-621: A miniaturized physics package and a lower mass re-entry vehicle, both of which are highly advanced technologies. As a result, single-warhead missiles are more attractive for nations with less advanced or less productive nuclear technology. The United States first deployed MRV warheads on the Polaris A-3 SLBM in 1964 on the USS Daniel Webster . The Polaris A-3 missile carried three warheads each having an approximate yield of 200 kilotonnes of TNT (840 TJ). This system
2805-459: A new Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile , striking Dnipro . Analysts stated the missile used a multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV), likely marking their first use in combat. The night attack was reported to see six sequential vertical flashes, each comprising a cluster of up to six individual projectiles. Ukraine's air force initially claimed an intercontinental ballistic missile (range greater than 5,500 km)
2970-465: A number of Minuteman III silos similarly adapted over time to bring the force to a total of 100 missiles. Additionally, he suggested funding development of three additional concepts, airborne drops from cargo aircraft, an "active defense" using short-range anti-ballistic missile , or basing new silos deep underground or on the south side of mesas ("reverse-inclination basing"). The latter two quickly proved unacceptable for various reasons, while testing of
3135-508: A philanthropist and socialite. His paternal grandfather, P. J. Kennedy , was an East Boston ward boss and Massachusetts state legislator . Kennedy's maternal grandfather and namesake, John F. Fitzgerald , was a U.S. congressman and two-term mayor of Boston . All four of his grandparents were children of Irish immigrants. Kennedy had an older brother, Joseph Jr. , and seven younger siblings: Rosemary , Kathleen , Eunice , Patricia , Robert , Jean , and Ted . Kennedy's father amassed
3300-537: A politician, and at that time he suffered from extreme shyness. Kennedy found "most of his fellow congressmen boring, preoccupied as they all seemed to be with their narrow political concerns." The arcane House rules and customs, which slowed legislation, exasperated him. Kennedy served in the House for six years, joining the influential Education and Labor Committee and the Veterans' Affairs Committee . He concentrated his attention on international affairs, supporting
3465-484: A preparatory boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut . Rose had wanted John and Joe Jr. to attend a Catholic school , but Joe Sr. thought that if they were to compete in the political world, they needed to be with boys from prominent Protestant families. John spent his first years at Choate in his older brother's shadow and compensated with rebellious behavior that attracted a clique. Their most notorious stunt
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#17327653512763630-414: A private fortune and established trust funds for his nine children that guaranteed lifelong financial independence. His business kept him away from home for long stretches, but Joe Sr. was a formidable presence in his children's lives. He encouraged them to be ambitious, emphasized political discussions at the dinner table, and demanded a high level of academic achievement. John's first exposure to politics
3795-458: A result of the first debate. The debates are now considered a milestone in American political history—the point at which the medium of television began to play a dominant role. Kennedy's campaign gained momentum after the first debate, and he pulled slightly ahead of Nixon in most polls. On Election Day, Kennedy defeated Nixon in one of the closest presidential elections of the 20th century. In
3960-469: A senator "the most corrupting job in the world." He complained that they were all too quick to cut deals and please campaign contributors to ensure their political futures. Kennedy, with the luxury of a rich father who could finance his campaigns, could remain independent of any special interest, except for those in his home state of Massachusetts that could align against his reelection. According to Robert Caro , Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson viewed Kennedy as
4125-422: A series of televised debates . An estimated 70 million Americans, about two-thirds of the electorate, watched the first debate on September 26. Kennedy had met the day before with the producer to discuss the set design and camera placement. Nixon, just out of the hospital after a painful knee injury, did not take advantage of this opportunity and during the debate looked at the reporters asking questions and not at
4290-416: A series of " teas " at hotels and parlors across Massachusetts to reach out to women voters. In the presidential election, Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower carried Massachusetts by 208,000 votes, but Kennedy narrowly defeated Lodge by 70,000 votes for the Senate seat. The following year, he married Jacqueline Bouvier . Kennedy underwent several spinal operations over the next two years. Often absent from
4455-566: A single reentry vehicle system, as part of its obligations under the New START treaty. The military purpose of a MIRV is fourfold: MIRV land-based ICBMs were considered destabilizing because they tended to put a premium on striking first . The world's first MIRV—US Minuteman III missile of 1970—threatened to rapidly increase the US's deployable nuclear arsenal and thus the possibility that it would have enough bombs to destroy virtually all of
4620-753: A single warhead each. Because the Minuteman could carry a single warhead for far less money, the United States agreed to remove the Peacekeeper from their nuclear force in this treaty. Despite the US withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and the subsequent Russian withdrawal from the START II on 14 June 2002, the last Peacekeeper missile was deactivated on 19 September 2005. Their advanced W87 warheads were moved to
4785-583: A sizable Black population, Kennedy was not particularly sensitive to the problems of African Americans. Robert Kennedy later reflected, "We weren't thinking of the Negroes of Mississippi or Alabama—what should be done for them. We were thinking of what needed to be done in Massachusetts." Most historians and political scientists who have written about Kennedy refer to his U.S. Senate years as an interlude. According to Robert Dallek , Kennedy called being
4950-589: A small warhead of less than 1 megaton meant the system was unable to attack hardened targets like missile silos . This limited these early models to attacks on strategic targets like cities and ports, and the system had little or no capability as a counterforce weapon. The Air Force relied on its crewed bombers as the primary weapon for attacking hardened targets and saw the ICBM as a survivable deterrent that would guard against an attack on its bomber fleet. Soviet missiles were known to have very low accuracy, far too low to directly attack US missile silos. They did have
5115-580: A system of multiple protective shelters linked by underground or aboveground roads, the so-called "Racetrack" proposal. Local opposition in Nevada was intense, and the concept gained a powerful enemy in the form of Senator Paul Laxalt . Initially support was high in Utah, especially in the Beaver County area; although opposition increased dramatically following a statement of disapproval by the leaders of
LGM-118 Peacekeeper - Misplaced Pages Continue
5280-570: A temporary measure until final basing was decided. The first flight test took place in 1983, which included the successful launch of six inert re-entry vehicles, each hitting pre-planned targets. It was the first US ICBM to use a cold launch system . Peacekeeper reached initial operational capability in 1986. At this time, the United States and the Soviet Union were negotiating the START II treaty, under which ICBMs were allowed to carry only
5445-644: A village on Cape Cod , where they swam, sailed, and played touch football. Christmas and Easter holidays were spent at their winter retreat in Palm Beach, Florida . In September 1930, Kennedy, 13 years old, was sent to the Canterbury School in New Milford, Connecticut , for 8th grade. In April 1931, he had an appendectomy , after which he withdrew from Canterbury and recuperated at home. In September 1931, Kennedy started attending Choate ,
5610-425: A way that enough would survive a nuclear attack, carry a large number of warheads so the survivors would still inflict massive damage, and be able to rapidly re-target so they could be aimed at only those missiles the Soviets had not yet fired. Over its development through the 1970s, MX emerged as a highly accurate, rapid-firing, and quickly retargeted system. Ultimately, the only problem that was never completely solved
5775-428: A worrying scenario; a Soviet first strike with a limited number of warheads aimed at the Minuteman silos or control bunkers could cripple the US ICBM fleet. At the time, the Soviets were only capable of mounting a limited attack. With the limited accuracy of Soviet missiles, only an attack with a small number of missiles carrying very large warheads (multi-megaton range) was feasible. They had just enough of these to make
5940-498: Is a mobile missile system that was developed by the United States Air Force during the 1980s as part of a plan to place fifty MGM-118A Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missiles on the rail network of the United States. The railcars were intended, in case of increased threat of nuclear war , to be deployed onto the nation's rail network to avoid being destroyed by a first strike counterforce attack by
6105-511: Is because of their first-strike capability that land-based MIRVs were banned under the START II agreement. START II was ratified by the Russian Duma on 14 April 2000, but Russia withdrew from the treaty in 2002 after the US withdrew from the ABM treaty . In a MIRV, the main rocket motor (or booster ) pushes a "bus" into a free-flight suborbital ballistic flight path. After the boost phase,
6270-409: Is crucial because doubling the accuracy decreases the needed warhead energy by a factor of four for radiation damage and by a factor of eight for blast damage. Navigation system accuracy and the available geophysical information limits the warhead target accuracy. Some writers believe that government-supported geophysical mapping initiatives and ocean satellite altitude systems such as Seasat may have
6435-436: Is often claimed that television viewers overwhelmingly believed Kennedy, appearing to be the more attractive of the two, had won, while radio listeners (a smaller audience) thought Nixon had defeated him. However, only one poll split TV and radio voters like this and the methodology was poor. Pollster Elmo Roper concluded that the debates raised interest, boosted turnout, and gave Kennedy an extra two million votes, mostly as
6600-719: The 1953 Worcester tornado ), except on certain occasions when the national interest was at stake. In 1954, Kennedy voted in favor of the Saint Lawrence Seaway which would connect the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean, despite opposition from Massachusetts politicians who argued that the project would hurt the Port of Boston economically. In 1954, when the Senate voted to condemn Joseph McCarthy for breaking Senate rules and abusing an Army general, Kennedy
6765-858: The American embassy in London , where his father was serving as President Franklin D. Roosevelt 's ambassador to the Court of St. James's . The following year, Kennedy traveled throughout Europe, the Soviet Union , the Balkans , and the Middle East in preparation for his Harvard senior honors thesis. He then went to Berlin, where a U.S. diplomatic representative gave him a secret message about war breaking out soon to pass on to his father, and to Czechoslovakia before returning to London on September 1, 1939,
LGM-118 Peacekeeper - Misplaced Pages Continue
6930-530: The Boston Council from 1946 to 1955 as district vice chairman, member of the executive board, vice-president, and National Council Representative. To appeal to the large Italian-American voting bloc in Massachusetts, Kennedy delivered a speech in November 1947 supporting a $ 227 million aid package to Italy. He maintained that Italy was in danger from an "onslaught of the communist minority" and that
7095-509: The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory had been working on a new type of inertial platform that replaced the mechanical gimbals with a sphere floating in a thin layer of fluorocarbon fluid. The so-called "flimbal" (apparently for "FLoated Measurement BAL") would offer unprecedented accuracy and would be free from " gimbal lock ", a problem that caused conventional platforms to "tumble" and lose their accuracy. Like
7260-499: The Democratic presidential nomination . Though some questioned Kennedy's age and experience, his charisma and eloquence earned him numerous supporters. Kennedy faced several potential challengers, including Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson, Adlai Stevenson II , and Senator Hubert Humphrey . Kennedy traveled extensively to build his support. His campaign strategy was to win several primaries to demonstrate his electability to
7425-473: The Fish and Wildlife Service budget, modernizing reserve-fleet vessels , tax incentives to prevent further business relocations, and the development of hydroelectric and nuclear power in Massachusetts. Kennedy's suggestions for stimulating the region's economy appealed to both parties by offering benefits to business and labor, and promising to serve national defense. Congress would eventually enact most of
7590-655: The Kwajalein Test Range in the Pacific. The first eight test flights were launched from an above ground canister on TP-01, with the remaining test and operational Strategic Air Command flights from silos (LF-02, −05, & -08) all located on North Vandenberg AFB. A total of 50 flight tests were accomplished. The operational missile was first manufactured in February 1984 and was deployed in December 1986 to
7755-476: The MGM-134 Midgetman . By this time both the US and USSR were beginning to field third-generation SLBMs with greatly improved accuracy. These now arguably had all of the capability of the land-based ICBMs, and were equally able to carry out the counterforce mission. Additionally, the submarines could maneuver much closer to their targets, greatly reducing the warning time, potentially to the point that
7920-431: The MGM-134 Midgetman . The Midgetman deliberately carried only one warhead and was highly mobile. Countering a single Midgetman would require the Soviets to blanket an area around its last known position with warheads. Even if this was successful, they would destroy only a single warhead. Faced with this choice, it was expected the Soviets would instead expend their warheads on easier targets. The Peacekeeper Rail Garrison
8085-541: The Mercury spacecraft , X-20 Dynasoar and various ICBM projects. In 1964, the Air Force contracted them to consider a wide variety of survivable ICBM approaches, under the name "Golden Arrow". The project considered road, rail, submarine and air-launched weapons. One of these suggested an air-launched ballistic missile . The proposal called for an enormous (for the day) turboprop -powered aircraft with two-day endurance carrying up to eight missiles that would be dropped out
8250-642: The Minotaur IV (OSP-2) , while the warheads were redeployed on the existing Minuteman III missiles. Parts of the missile Roll Control System (RoCS) were reused during the Ares I-X test for the Constellation program . Multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle A multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle ( MIRV ) is an exoatmospheric ballistic missile payload containing several warheads , each capable of being aimed to hit
8415-569: The National Defense Education Act in 1959 to eliminate the requirement that aid recipients sign a loyalty oath and provide supporting affidavits. Kennedy cast a procedural vote against President Eisenhower's bill for the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and this was considered by some to be an appeasement of Southern Democratic opponents of the bill. Kennedy did vote for Title III of the act, which would have given
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#17327653512768580-864: The Naval Reserve Officer Training School in Chicago and at the Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons Training Center in Melville, Rhode Island . His first command was PT-101 from December 7, 1942, until February 23, 1943. Unhappy to be assigned to the Panama Canal , far from the fighting, Kennedy appealed to Massachusetts senator David Walsh , who arranged for him to be assigned to the South Pacific . In April 1943, Kennedy
8745-549: The PT-109 crew were rescued. Almost immediately, the PT-109 rescue became a highly publicized event. The story was chronicled by John Hersey in The New Yorker in 1944 (decades later it was the basis of a successful film ). It followed Kennedy into politics and provided a strong foundation for his appeal as a leader. Hersey portrayed Kennedy as a modest, self-deprecating hero. For his courage and leadership, Kennedy
8910-978: The Soviet Union . However the plan was cancelled as part of defense cutbacks following the end of the Cold War , and the Peacekeeper missiles were installed in silo launchers as LGM-118s instead. The new ICBM was originally planned to be called "Peacemaker", but at the last minute was officially designated the LGM-118A Peacekeeper. It was first test fired on 17 June 1983, by the Air Force Systems Command Ballistic Missile Office (Norton AFB, CA), 6595th Missile Test Group (Vandenberg AFB, CA Strategic Air Command), and Martin Marietta, from Vandenberg AFB, California Test Pad-01, traveling 4,200 nautical miles (4,800 mi; 7,800 km) to strike successfully in
9075-458: The Soviet Union's nuclear weapons and negate any significant retaliation. Later on the US feared the Soviet's MIRVs because Soviet missiles had a greater throw-weight and could thus put more warheads on each missile than the US could. For example, the US MIRVs might have increased their warhead per missile count by a factor of 6 while the Soviets increased theirs by a factor of 10. Furthermore,
9240-524: The Sprint system, to increase survivability. This was developed into the abortive Sentry program ." For MX, the Draper Laboratory developed SABRE into the " Advanced Inertial Reference Sphere " (AIRS). AIRS would have a drift rate of only 1.5 x 10 degrees per hour, allowing it to be periodically referenced to an external point, like the silo wall, and then left for extended periods of time. Over
9405-473: The Strategic Air Command 's (SAC) arsenal and replace them with the new Minuteman IIIs outfitted with a MIRV payload, increasing their overall effectiveness. The smaller power of the warheads used (W62, W78 and W87) was offset by increasing the accuracy of the system, allowing it to attack the same hard targets as the larger, less accurate, W56. The MMIII was introduced specifically to address
9570-640: The Strategic Air Command , 90th Strategic Missile Wing at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming in re-fitted Minuteman silos. However, the AIRS was not yet ready and the missiles were deployed with non-operational guidance units. AIRS had 19,000 parts and some of these required as many as 11,000 testing steps. Bogged down in paperwork due to government procurement policies, managers started bypassing official channels and buying replacement parts wherever they could be found, including claims that some of
9735-620: The Truman Doctrine as the appropriate response to the emerging Cold War . He also supported public housing and opposed the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 , which restricted the power of labor unions. Though not as vocally anti-communist as Joseph McCarthy , Kennedy supported the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 , which required communists to register with the government, and he deplored
9900-551: The UGM-133 Trident II , Congress had already cancelled the 100-missile option in July 1985. In that decision, Congress limited the deployment of Peacekeeper ICBMs to 50 missiles until a more "survivable" basing plan could be developed. Development of the rail garrison system was carried out in parallel. However, budgetary constraints and the dissolution of the Soviet Union led to its being scrapped. The National Museum of
10065-509: The flexible response doctrine). Even if the Soviets attacked only the bombers, the US would be left with no counterforce approach, as both the Navy and Air Force missiles could only attack large targets. As the US Navy was quick to point out, their Polaris fleet's stealth and mobility would maintain a countervalue force under any possible scenario. This threatened the Air Force's supremacy in
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#173276535127610230-535: The party bosses , who controlled most of the delegates, and to prove to his detractors that a Catholic could win popular support. Victories over Senator Humphrey in the Wisconsin and West Virginia primaries gave Kennedy momentum as he moved on to the 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. When Kennedy entered the convention, he had the most delegates, but not enough to ensure that he would win
10395-583: The " loss of China ." During a speech in Salem, Massachusetts on January 30, 1949, Kennedy denounced Truman and the State Department for contributing to the "tragic story of China whose freedom we once fought to preserve. What our young men had saved [in World War II], our diplomats and our President have frittered away." Having served as a boy scout during his childhood, Kennedy was active in
10560-417: The "Advanced Stable Platform" (ASP). In May 1975 the first hand-built AIRS was transferred from Draper's laboratory to Northrop for further development. In July 1976, Congress refused to fund MX using a silo-based system on grounds of vulnerability, and the project was halted. Several new proposals were made for alternate basing arrangements, including mobile basing in railway cars that would be sent out into
10725-408: The 29 missiles deployed were not operational. A Congressional report stated that "Northrop was behind schedule before it even started" and noted that the Air Force knew as early as 1985 that there were "serious system deficiencies as well as a lack of effective progress". They complained that the Air Force should have come clean and simply pushed back the deployment date, but instead, in order to foster
10890-523: The Attorney General powers to enjoin, but Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson agreed to let the provision die as a compromise measure. Kennedy also voted for the "Jury Trial Amendment." Many civil rights advocates criticized that vote as one which would weaken the act. A final compromise bill, which Kennedy supported, was passed in September 1957. As a senator from Massachusetts, which lacked
11055-449: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . When Ronald Reagan took office, Laxalt's close ties with Reagan proved useful. Reagan canceled the new shelter system in 1981, calling it "a Rube Goldberg scheme". On 2 October 1981 he proposed deploying an initial force of missiles in the approximately 60 existing Titan II silos, removing those now outdated missiles from service. The silos would be modified for much greater strength, and
11220-539: The Cuban government of Fidel Castro in the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion and Operation Mongoose . In October 1962, U.S. spy planes discovered Soviet missile bases had been deployed in Cuba. The resulting period of tensions, termed the Cuban Missile Crisis , nearly resulted in nuclear war . In August 1961, after East German troops erected the Berlin Wall , Kennedy sent an army convoy to reassure West Berliners of U.S. support, and delivered one of his most famous speeches in West Berlin in June 1963. In 1963, Kennedy signed
11385-449: The Greater Houston Ministerial Association on September 12: "I am not the Catholic candidate for president. I am the Democratic Party candidate for president who also happens to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my Church on public matters—and the Church does not speak for me." He promised to respect the separation of church and state , and not to allow Catholic officials to dictate public policy. The Kennedy and Nixon campaigns agreed to
11550-431: The ICBM-X, there was little development as there appeared to be no need for a platform with the sort of accuracy the flimbal provided, and the expense of developing the system would be extremely high. In spite of a lack of official interest, during the late 1960s Kenneth Fertig managed to arrange some funding through the Air Force for the "SABRE" INS project, short for "Self-Aligning Boost and RE-entry". The name referred to
11715-404: The MIRV capabilities needed to ensure even a small number of survivors would be able to attack the remaining Soviet missile fleet. The Minuteman III simply did not have this combination of features. Whether or not this problem actually existed is open to debate. The Minuteman had a relatively fast launch time, and early warning satellites meant that commanders would have almost instant warning of
11880-501: The MRV cluster; this makes for an efficient area-attack weapon and makes interception by anti-ballistic missiles more challenging due to the number of warheads being deployed at once. Improved warhead designs allow smaller warheads for a given yield, while better electronics and guidance systems allow greater accuracy. As a result, MIRV technology has proven more attractive than MRV for advanced nations. Multiple-warhead missiles require both
12045-802: The McClellan Committee) with his brother Robert, who was chief counsel, to investigate racketeering in labor-management relations. The hearings attracted extensive radio and television coverage where the Kennedy brothers engaged in dramatic arguments with controversial labor leaders, including Jimmy Hoffa , of the Teamsters Union . The following year, Kennedy introduced a bill to prevent the expenditure of union dues for improper purposes or private gain; to forbid loans from union funds for illicit transactions; and to compel audits of unions, which would ensure against false financial reports. It
12210-581: The Minuteman II. In 1966 and 67, the Department of Defense ran the STRAT-X study to consider many of these issues. As part of this program, they proposed a smaller version of ICBM-X with 10 to 20 warheads. Known initially as WS-120A and later as BGM-75 AICBM , the missile was small enough to fit in existing large silos, like those for the Titan II , but was otherwise similar in concept to the ICBM-X, with
12375-585: The Minuteman III. The private launch firm Orbital Sciences Corporation has developed the Minotaur IV , a four-stage civilian expendable launch system using old Peacekeeper components. As of 2020, seven Minotaur IV flights have been made. Deployment of the Minuteman ICBM began in 1962, during the Cold War , and proceeded rapidly. Limited accuracy with a circular error probable (CEP) of about 0.6 to 0.8 nautical miles (1.1 to 1.5 km) and
12540-556: The New England region (some of which became law). In 1958 , Kennedy was re-elected to the Senate, defeating his Republican opponent, Boston lawyer Vincent J. Celeste, with 73.6 percent of the vote, the largest winning margin in the history of Massachusetts politics. In the aftermath of his re-election, Kennedy began preparing to run for president by traveling throughout the U.S. with the aim of building his candidacy for 1960. On January 2, 1960, Kennedy announced his candidacy for
12705-429: The Pacific. He oversaw a professional advertising campaign that ensured ads went up in just the right places the campaign had a virtual monopoly on [Boston] subway space, and on window stickers ("Kennedy for Congress") for cars and homes and was the force behind the mass mailing of Hersey's PT-109 article. Though Republicans took control of the House in the 1946 elections , Kennedy defeated his Republican opponent in
12870-517: The Senate in 1952 against Republican three-term incumbent Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. with the campaign slogan "KENNEDY WILL DO MORE FOR MASSACHUSETTS". Joe Sr. again financed his son's candidacy (persuading the Boston Post to switch its support to Kennedy by promising the publisher a $ 500,000 loan), while John's younger brother Robert emerged as campaign manager. Kennedy's mother and sisters contributed as highly effective canvassers by hosting
13035-564: The Senate, he was at times critically ill and received Catholic last rites . During his convalescence in 1956, he published Profiles in Courage , a book about U.S. senators who risked their careers for their personal beliefs, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 1957. Rumors that this work was ghostwritten by his close adviser and speechwriter , Ted Sorensen , were confirmed in Sorensen's 2008 autobiography. At
13200-652: The South, and blamed the right-to-work provision for giving the South an unfair advantage over Massachusetts in labor costs. In May 1953, Kennedy introduced "The Economic Problems of New England", a 36-point program to help Massachusetts industries such as fishing , textile manufacturing , watchmaking , and shipbuilding , as well as the Boston seaport. Kennedy's policy agenda included protective tariffs , preventing excessive speculation in raw wool, stronger efforts to research and market American fish products, an increase in
13365-539: The Soviet construction of an anti-ballistic missile (ABM) system around Moscow; MIRV allowed the US to overwhelm any conceivable ABM system without increasing the size of their own missile fleet. The Soviets responded by adding MIRV to their R-36 design, first with three warheads in 1975, and eventually up to ten in later versions. While the United States phased out the use of MIRVs in ICBMs in 2014 to comply with New START , Russia continues to develop new ICBM designs using
13530-490: The Soviets could modify their warheads and circumvent this design. All that was required was that several warheads arrive and be detonated within a few milliseconds of each other, so the blast waves did not reach each other before completing destruction of the silo. Such timing could be easily achieved by launching all of the warheads from a single missile. Congress again rejected the system. Reagan responded to this setback by appointing Lieutenant General Brent Scowcroft to lead
13695-424: The Soviets immediately launched against US cities. The other option would require the US to be the first country to launch an attack on civilian targets, an attack that was both morally reprehensible as well as against stated policy. This worrying scenario led to the effort to develop a new ICBM with the accuracy needed to be an excellent counterforce weapon, the survivability needed to absorb a Soviet first strike, and
13860-411: The Soviets improved their missiles. In the event of a Soviet missile launch, the US faced the difficult decision of whether to fire their missiles immediately or wait to determine the targets of the Soviet missiles. Firing early might mean striking civilian targets ( countervalue ) when the Soviets had only targeted military installations, something US politicians considered to be a serious problem (part of
14025-414: The US had a much smaller proportion of its nuclear arsenal in ICBMs than the Soviets. Bombers could not be outfitted with MIRVs so their capacity would not be multiplied. Thus the US did not seem to have as much potential for MIRV usage as the Soviets. However, the US had a larger number of submarine-launched ballistic missiles , which could be outfitted with MIRVs, and helped offset the ICBM disadvantage. It
14190-566: The United States Air Force has a rail garrison box car on display, and developmental remnants of the program can still be found at Vandenberg Air Force Base . The project had already cost around $ 20 billion up to 1998 and produced 114 missiles, at $ 400 million for each operational missile. The "flyaway" cost of each warhead was estimated at 20 to 70 million dollars. The missiles were gradually retired, with 17 withdrawn during 2003, leaving 29 missiles on alert at
14355-667: The Warrior River at Choiseul Island , taking ten marines aboard and delivering them to safety. Under doctor's orders, Kennedy was relieved of his command on November 18, and sent to the hospital on Tulagi. By December 1943, with his health deteriorating, Kennedy left the Pacific front and arrived in San Francisco in early January 1944. After receiving treatment for his back injury at the Chelsea Naval Hospital in Massachusetts from May to December 1944, he
14520-476: The accuracy to attack Soviet silos and thus offered little counterforce capability. In some ways this helped the Air Force, as it meant they could concentrate on the counterforce scenarios, knowing that a countervalue attack would always be available from the Navy. However, improvements in SLBM accuracy might allow them to handle counterforce as well, and render the entire land-based ICBM fleet superfluous. The Air Force
14685-442: The air-drop concept was pursued. On 22 November 1982, Reagan announced that the system would be deployed in new silos in what was then known as "Closely Spaced Basing", but later better known as " dense pack ". During this speech, he made the first mention of the name Peacekeeper. The dense pack idea involved building super-hardened silos that would withstand more than 10,000 psi (69 MPa ) of overpressure , exceeding both
14850-701: The army's Officer Candidate School . Despite months of training, he was medically disqualified due to his chronic back problems. On September 24, 1941, Kennedy, with the help of the director of the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) and the former naval attaché to Joe Sr., Alan Kirk, joined the United States Naval Reserve . He was commissioned an ensign on October 26, 1941, and joined the ONI staff in Washington, D.C. In January 1942, Kennedy
15015-465: The back, parachuted to the vertical, and then launched. As part of the same study, Aerospace also considered a missile and wheeled launcher combination that was small enough that they could be carried in existing C-141 Starlifter aircraft. During periods of heightened tensions, they would be flown to practically any airport and set up. The Soviets would have to target thousands of airports, runways and even dirt strips and long stretches of highway to attack
15180-426: The base of Kolombangara around 2:00 a.m., and attempted to turn to attack, when PT-109 was rammed suddenly at an angle and cut in half by the destroyer Amagiri , killing two PT-109 crew members. Avoiding surrender, the remaining crew swam towards Plum Pudding Island , 3.5 miles (5.6 km) southwest of the remains of PT-109 , on August 2. Despite re-injuring his back in the collision, Kennedy towed
15345-492: The beginning of 2004, and only 10 by the beginning of 2005. The last Peacekeeper was removed from alert on 19 September 2005 during the final deactivation ceremony when the 400th Missile Squadron was inactivated as well. During the ceremony an Under Secretary of the Air Force credited the Peacekeeper with helping to end the Cold War. The Peacekeeper rockets were converted to the satellite launcher role by Orbital Sciences , as
15510-530: The bus maneuvers using small on-board rocket motors and a computerized inertial guidance system . It takes up a ballistic trajectory that will deliver a re-entry vehicle containing a warhead to a target and then releases a warhead on that trajectory. It then maneuvers to a different trajectory, releasing another warhead, and repeats the process for all warheads. The precise technical details are closely guarded military secrets , to hinder any development of enemy counter-measures. The bus's on-board propellant limits
15675-440: The camera. Kennedy wore a blue suit and shirt to cut down on glare and appeared sharply focused against the gray studio background. Nixon wore a light-colored suit that blended into the gray background; in combination with the harsh studio lighting that left Nixon perspiring, he offered a less-than-commanding presence. By contrast, Kennedy appeared relaxed, tanned, and telegenic, looking into the camera whilst answering questions. It
15840-674: The campus newspaper, but had little involvement with campus politics, preferring to concentrate on athletics and his social life. Kennedy played football and was on the JV squad during his sophomore year, but an injury forced him off the team, and left him with back problems that plagued him for the rest of his life. He won membership in the Hasty Pudding Club and the Spee Club , one of Harvard's elite " final clubs ". In July 1938, Kennedy sailed overseas with his older brother to work at
16005-473: The combination of accuracy and power to attack the US bomber bases. Although it would be very difficult to arrange, there was the possibility that a combination of missile attacks on US bomber bases combined with bomber attacks on the missile bases would leave the US at a disadvantage. The survivability of the missile fleet became increasingly important, especially after the Kennedy administration took power, and
16170-412: The command structure would not have time to launch their ICBMs and bombers before the warheads were reaching them. The development of the Trident II , which was described as "effective against most of the hardened military targets, including missile silos and launch control centers", reopened the debate about MX. If Trident was capable of carrying out the mission originally intended for MX, and do so from
16335-410: The concept that the system would be so accurate and free from the effects of mechanical shocks and jarring that it would not require any other form of "fixing" in flight. This was in contrast to the stellar-inertial systems under development by the Navy and others. It would retain its accuracy even through the rough conditions during re-entry, allowing the creation of maneuvering reentry vehicles. During
16500-608: The country was the "initial battleground in the communist drive to capture Western Europe." To combat Soviet efforts to take control in Middle Eastern and Asian countries like Indochina , Kennedy wanted the United States to develop nonmilitary techniques of resistance that would not create suspicions of neoimperialism or add to the country's financial burden. The problem, as he saw it, was not simply to be anti-communist but to stand for something that these emerging nations would find appealing. Almost every weekend that Congress
16665-537: The day that Germany invaded Poland ; the start of World War II . Two days later, the family was in the House of Commons for speeches endorsing the United Kingdom's declaration of war on Germany. Kennedy was sent as his father's representative to help with arrangements for American survivors of the torpedoing of SS Athenia before flying back to the U.S. on his first transatlantic flight. While Kennedy
16830-469: The distances between targets of individual warheads to perhaps a few hundred kilometers. Some warheads may use small hypersonic airfoils during the descent to gain additional cross-range distance. Additionally, some buses (e.g. the British Chevaline system) can release decoys to confuse interception devices and radars , such as aluminized balloons or electronic noisemakers. Accuracy
16995-541: The era of Robert McNamara 's US Department of Defense , cost was as important as any other consideration. As Alain Enthoven put it, "Our gross national product, though large, is limited. If we attempted to develop and procure a dozen or more distinct different nuclear delivery systems… we doubtless would end up squandering our resources and not doing a good job on any of them." Golden Arrow, along with many similar proposals from other firms, proceeded no further, in favor of
17160-549: The fall general election campaign, the Republican nominee and incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon held a six-point lead in the polls. Major issues included how to get the economy moving again, Kennedy's Catholicism, the Cuban Revolution , and whether the space and missile programs of the Soviet Union had surpassed those of the U.S. To address fears that his being Catholic would impact his decision-making, he told
17325-474: The final procurement; only 50 entered service. Disarmament treaties signed after the Peacekeeper's development led to its withdrawal from service in 2005. Studies on the underlying concept started in the 1960s. The idea was to allow the US to absorb a sneak attack by the USSR with enough warheads surviving to attack the remaining Soviet missile silos. To do so, the missiles had to be highly accurate, be based in such
17490-743: The first nuclear weapons treaty . He presided over the establishment of the Peace Corps , Alliance for Progress with Latin America, and the continuation of the Apollo program with the goal of landing a man on the Moon before 1970. He supported the civil rights movement but was only somewhat successful in passing his New Frontier domestic policies. On November 22, 1963, Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas . His vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson , assumed
17655-583: The first televised presidential debates in American history, and he was elected president, narrowly defeating Republican opponent Richard Nixon , the incumbent vice president. Kennedy's presidency saw high tensions with communist states in the Cold War. He increased the number of American military advisers in South Vietnam , and the Strategic Hamlet Program began during his presidency. In 1961, he authorized attempts to overthrow
17820-402: The fleet. Finally, they also considered conventional missiles in "super hard" silos, buried under the southern side of mountains. As the enemy warheads would approach at a fairly shallow angle from the north, they would strike the north side of the mountains before they could hit the silos themselves. Properly positioned, this would keep the explosions at least 5,000 feet (1,500 m) away from
17985-408: The general election, taking 73 percent of the vote. As a congressman, Kennedy had a reputation for not taking much interest in the running of his office or his constituents' concerns, with one of the highest absenteeism rates in the House, although much was explained by illness. George Smathers , one of his few political friends at the time, claimed that he was more interested in being a writer than
18150-627: The general public can only regard it as a tragedy that politics has prevented the recommendations of the McClellan committee from being carried out this year," Kennedy announced. That same year, Kennedy joined the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee . There he supported Algeria's effort to gain independence from France and sponsored an amendment to the Mutual Defense Assistance Act that would provide aid to Soviet satellite nations. Kennedy also introduced an amendment to
18315-514: The general public. His personal life has been the focus of considerable sustained interest following public revelations in the 1970s of his chronic health ailments and extramarital affairs . Kennedy is the most recent U.S. president to have died in office . John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born outside Boston in Brookline, Massachusetts , on May 29, 1917, to Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. , a businessman and politician, and Rose Kennedy ( née Fitzgerald),
18480-566: The illusion of progress, the missiles were deployed in a non-operational state. The first prototype AIRS, by then known more generically as the Inertial Measurement Unit, or IMU, was delivered in May 1986, 203 days late. It was not until July 1987 that the first production AIRS were ready to ship, and the complete supply for the first 50 missiles was not complete until December 1988. Given these delays, and increased performance of
18645-481: The late 1970s, the Soviet Union fielded a large number of increasingly accurate MIRVed Heavy ICBMs like the SS-18 . These missiles carried as many as 10 warheads along with up to 40 penetration aids , meaning that a small number of launches could present a threat to the Air Force's ICBM fleet while retaining a large force in reserve. If the Soviet Union launched a first strike and the US did not respond immediately,
18810-457: The majority of their missiles and strategic bombers might be caught on the ground. A credible deterrent force would remain, but such a force might not have enough warheads left to attack both the remaining Soviet fleet and cities and other military targets. In such a situation, the US would be left with two uncomfortable options. If they chose to respond in kind and attack the remaining Soviet missile fleet, there would be little to respond with if
18975-434: The nation's rail network during times of heightened threat levels, and more complex systems of deeply buried silos under mesas that would include systems to quickly dig themselves out after an attack. Eventually, the program was reinstated on 12 June 1979 by President Carter . On 7 September 1979 he announced that 200 MX missiles would be deployed throughout eastern Nevada and western Utah . The deployment would occur in
19140-523: The national popular vote, by most accounts , Kennedy led Nixon by just two-tenths of one percent (49.7% to 49.5%), while in the Electoral College , he won 303 votes to Nixon's 219 (269 were needed to win). Fourteen electors from Mississippi and Alabama refused to support Kennedy because of his support for the civil rights movement ; they voted for Senator Harry F. Byrd of Virginia, as did an elector from Oklahoma. Forty-three years old, Kennedy
19305-495: The nations of the world to join to fight what he called the "common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself." He added: All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin." In closing, he expanded on his desire for greater internationalism: "Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of
19470-454: The new Secretary of Defense , Robert McNamara , was given the task of making the US military the most powerful in the world while at the same time reducing its expenditures. He solved this problem by greatly reducing reliance on bombers, and by 1964, there were more US ICBMs than bombers on nuclear alert. By the mid-1960s, the missile had become the main US strategic weapon. This led to concerns about various warfighting scenarios, especially as
19635-425: The nomination. Stevenson—the 1952 and 1956 presidential nominee—remained very popular, while Johnson also hoped to win the nomination with support from party leaders. Kennedy's candidacy also faced opposition from former President Harry S. Truman , who was concerned about Kennedy's lack of experience. Kennedy knew that a second ballot could give the nomination to Johnson or someone else, and his well-organized campaign
19800-433: The nuclear warfighting arena. Even in the case of a counterforce attack, their bombers would take hours to complete their missions, during which the Soviets could launch their remaining missiles. The Air Force could not let this stand, and following the advice of RAND Corporation , in 1962 they decided the solution was to make the Minuteman capable of counterforce missions as well. The changes to Minuteman II were two-fold. One
19965-509: The parts were sourced at Radio Shack . In other cases, managers had created false shell companies to order needed test equipment. When these allegations were released by 60 Minutes and the Los Angeles Times , the fallout was immediate. Northrop was slapped with a $ 130 million fine for late delivery, and when they reacted against employees they were countersued in whistleblower suits. The Air Force also admitted that 11 of
20130-422: The period of the flight the drift would be so low that any inaccuracies in the platform would account for a maximum of 1% of the warhead's final accuracy–the rest would be due to issues like the timing of the firing of the rocket engines, minor differences in warhead construction, and unavoidable randomness in the atmosphere. The Air Force also contracted with Autonetics for a backup design using mechanical gimbals,
20295-598: The presidency . Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the assassination, but he was shot and killed by Jack Ruby two days later. The FBI and the Warren Commission both concluded Oswald had acted alone, but conspiracy theories about the assassination persist. After Kennedy's death, Congress enacted many of his proposals, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Revenue Act of 1964 . Kennedy ranks highly in polls of U.S. presidents with historians and
20460-468: The presidency. After Joe's death, the assignment fell to JFK as the second eldest. Boston mayor Maurice J. Tobin discussed the possibility of John becoming his running mate in 1946 as a candidate for Massachusetts lieutenant governor , but Joe Sr. preferred a congressional campaign that could send John to Washington, where he could have national visibility. At the urging of Kennedy's father, U.S. Representative James Michael Curley vacated his seat in
20625-467: The presidential nomination, Kennedy gave his well-known " New Frontier " speech: For the problems are not all solved and the battles are not all won—and we stand today on the edge of a New Frontier. ... But the New Frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises—it is a set of challenges. It sums up not what I intend to offer the American people, but what I intend to ask of them. At the start of
20790-468: The program office at the Space and Missile Systems Organization (SAMSO) formed on 4 April, and the advanced development program started in late 1973. To address the survivability issue, a huge series of concepts and studies followed. In 1973, Strategic Air Command rejected mobile basing due to high costs and slow reaction times due to the need to set up the launcher. On 24 October 1974 the airmobile concept
20955-581: The program. Kennedy, a Massachusetts Audubon Society supporter, wanted to make sure that the shorelines of Cape Cod remained unsullied by industrialization. On September 3, 1959, Kennedy co-sponsored the Cape Cod National Seashore bill with his Republican colleague Senator Leverett Saltonstall . As a senator, Kennedy quickly won a reputation for responsiveness to requests from constituents (i.e., co-sponsoring legislation to provide federal loans to help rebuild communities damaged by
21120-542: The prominent Kennedy family in Brookline, Massachusetts , Kennedy graduated from Harvard University in 1940, joining the U.S. Naval Reserve the following year. During World War II , he commanded PT boats in the Pacific theater . Kennedy's survival following the sinking of PT-109 and his rescue of his fellow sailors made him a war hero and earned the Navy and Marine Corps Medal , but left him with serious injuries. After
21285-399: The rated 2,000 psi (14 MPa) of existing silos and the proposed upgrade to 5,000 psi (34 MPa). This extra hardness can be offset by minor increases in warhead accuracy. The key to dense pack concept was to space the silos close together, about 1,800 feet (550 m). This was far enough apart that a single warhead could not destroy more than one silo; no conceivable warhead
21450-456: The re-introduction of the "rail garrison" concept, with twenty-five trains each carrying two missiles. This system was expected to be operational in 1992. The supposed counterforce gap, then being widely talked about on television, also resulted in the schedule for silo deployment being moved up, dropping the production time from 44 months to 29. Additionally, the plan also called for the development of an entirely new missile, which would emerge as
21615-585: The school yearbook and was voted the "most likely to succeed." Kennedy intended to study under Harold Laski at the London School of Economics , as his older brother had done. Ill health forced his return to the U.S. in October 1935, when he enrolled late at Princeton University , but had to leave after two months due to gastrointestinal illness. In September 1936, Kennedy enrolled at Harvard College . He wrote occasionally for The Harvard Crimson ,
21780-507: The silos; it was believed that silos able to withstand multi-megaton explosions at one mile could be built, although this was an area of some uncertainty. This system had the advantage that the basing would be immune to changes in the accuracy or speed of the attack, only enormous increases in yield could overcome this physical barrier. They proposed 100 missiles in three bases of 30 missiles each. They expected that at least one base would be able to survive even an all-out attack. However, if such
21945-592: The southern tip of the Solomon's Kolombangara Island. Intelligence had been sent to Kennedy's Commander Thomas G. Warfield expecting the arrival of the large Japanese naval force that would pass on the evening of August 1. Of the 24 torpedoes fired that night by eight of the American PTs, not one hit the Japanese convoy. On that moonless night, Kennedy spotted a Japanese destroyer heading north on its return from
22110-566: The start of his first term, Kennedy focused on fulfilling the promise of his campaign to do "more for Massachusetts" than his predecessor. Although Kennedy's and Lodge's legislative records were similarly liberal, Lodge voted for the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 and Kennedy voted against it. On NBC 's Meet the Press , Kennedy excoriated Lodge for not doing enough to prevent the increasing migration of manufacturing jobs from Massachusetts to
22275-552: The state delegation to the party's presidential nominee, Adlai Stevenson II , at the Democratic National Convention in August. Stevenson let the convention select the vice presidential nominee . Kennedy finished second in the balloting, losing to Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee, but receiving national exposure. In 1957, Kennedy joined the Senate's Select Committee on Labor Rackets (also known as
22440-737: The strongly Democratic 11th congressional district of Massachusetts to become mayor of Boston in 1946. Kennedy established legal residency at 122 Bowdoin Street across from the Massachusetts State House . Kennedy won the Democratic primary with 42 percent of the vote, defeating nine other candidates. According to Fredrik Logevall, Joe Sr. spent hours on the phone with reporters and editors, seeking information, trading confidences, and cajoling them into publishing puff pieces on John, ones that invariably played up his war record in
22605-472: The targeted missiles against their unlaunched Soviet counterparts. This would require extremely tight timing. The development of practical SLBM systems upset the nuclear equation dramatically. These weapons were essentially invulnerable when at sea, and offered a credible countervalue force, primarily against civilian targets as early models like the UGM-27 Polaris and UGM-73 Poseidon did not have
22770-445: The technology. The introduction of MIRV led to a major change in the strategic balance. Previously, with one warhead per missile, it was conceivable that one could build a defense that used missiles to attack individual warheads. Any increase in missile fleet by the enemy could be countered by a similar increase in interceptors. With MIRV, a single new enemy missile meant that multiple interceptors would have to be built, meaning that it
22935-539: The war and its origins, and quickly became a bestseller. In addition to addressing Britain's unwillingness to strengthen its military in the lead-up to the war, the book called for an Anglo-American alliance against the rising totalitarian powers. Kennedy became increasingly supportive of U.S. intervention in World War II, and his father's isolationist beliefs resulted in the latter's dismissal as ambassador. In 1940, Kennedy graduated cum laude from Harvard with
23100-399: The warheads would survive an anti-ballistic missile attack. Although the system did not include the ability to be rapidly retargeted, this capability was under development and started deployment in 1972, before the planned 1975 introduction date of WS-120A. When it was fully deployed in 1978, the entire ICBM fleet could be entirely reprogrammed in 10 hours. Since the late 1950s, engineers at
23265-533: Was a friend of William Randolph Hearst , arranged a position for his son as a special correspondent for Hearst Newspapers ; the assignment kept Kennedy's name in the public eye and "expose[d] him to journalism as a possible career." That May he went to Berlin as a correspondent, covering the Potsdam Conference and other events. Kennedy's elder brother Joe Jr. had been the family's political standard-bearer and had been tapped by their father to seek
23430-403: Was a super-hardened shelter, but dispersed mobile options were also considered. However, like Golden Arrow before it, WS-120A's advantages found themselves being diluted by the new Minuteman III. The Minuteman III used the new NS-20 inertial navigation system (INS) with a CEP of 0.12 nautical miles (220 m), three warheads and an expanded collection of radar countermeasures that would ensure
23595-509: Was able to earn the support of just enough delegates to win the presidential nomination on the first ballot. Kennedy ignored the opposition of his brother Robert, who wanted him to choose labor leader Walter Reuther , and other liberal supporters when he chose Johnson as his vice-presidential nominee. He believed that the Texas senator could help him win support from the South . In accepting
23760-799: Was also used by the Royal Navy who also retained MRV with the Chevaline upgrade, though the number of warheads in Chevaline was reduced to two due to the ABM counter-measures carried. The Soviet Union deployed 3 MRVs on the R-27U SLBM and 3 MRVs on the R-36P ICBM. Refer to atmospheric re-entry for more details. On November 21, 2024, as part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine , Russia launched
23925-550: Was an upperclassman at Harvard, he began to take his studies more seriously and developed an interest in political philosophy . He made the dean's list in his junior year. In 1940, Kennedy completed his thesis, "Appeasement in Munich", about British negotiations during the Munich Agreement . The thesis was released on July 24, under the title Why England Slept . The book was one of the first to offer information about
24090-581: Was assigned to Motor Torpedo Squadron TWO, and on April 24 he took command of PT-109 , then based on Tulagi Island in the Solomons . On the night of August 1–2, in support of the New Georgia campaign , PT-109 and fourteen other PTs were ordered to block or repel four Japanese destroyers and floatplanes carrying food, supplies, and 900 Japanese soldiers to the Vila Plantation garrison on
24255-499: Was assigned to the ONI field office at Headquarters, Sixth Naval District , in Charleston, South Carolina . His hope was to be the commander of a PT (patrol torpedo) boat , but his health problems seemed almost certain to prevent active duty. Kennedy's father intervened by providing misleading medical records and convincing PT officers that his presence would bring publicity to the fleet. Kennedy completed six months of training at
24420-457: Was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal , and the injuries he suffered during the incident qualified him for a Purple Heart . After a month's recovery Kennedy returned to duty, commanding the PT-59 . On November 2, Kennedy's PT-59 took part with two other PTs in the rescue of 40–50 marines. The 59 acted as a shield from shore fire as they escaped on two rescue landing craft at the base of
24585-565: Was easy. They cut my PT boat in half." On August 12, 1944, Kennedy's older brother, Joe Jr. , a navy pilot, was killed on an air mission. His body was never recovered. The news reached the family's home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, a day later. Kennedy felt that Joe Jr.'s reckless flight was partly an effort to outdo him. To console himself, Kennedy set out to assemble a privately published book of remembrances of his brother, As We Remember Joe . In April 1945, Kennedy's father, who
24750-468: Was exploding a toilet seat with a firecracker. In the next chapel assembly, the headmaster, George St. John, brandished the toilet seat and spoke of "muckers" who would "spit in our sea," leading Kennedy to name his group "The Muckers Club," which included roommate and lifelong friend Lem Billings . Kennedy graduated from Choate in June 1935, finishing 64th of 112 students. He had been the business manager of
24915-479: Was in session, Kennedy would fly back to Massachusetts to give speeches to veteran, fraternal, and civic groups, while maintaining an index card file on individuals who might be helpful for a campaign for statewide office. Contemplating whether to run for Massachusetts governor or the U.S. Senate , Kennedy abandoned interest in the former, believing that the governor "sat in an office, handing out sewer contracts." As early as 1949, Kennedy began preparing to run for
25080-449: Was much less expensive to increase the attack than the defense. This cost-exchange ratio was so heavily biased towards the attacker that the concept of mutual assured destruction became the leading concept in strategic planning and ABM systems were severely limited in the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in order to avoid a massive arms race . In June 2017 the United States finished converting its Minuteman III missiles back to using
25245-486: Was not interested in handing the strategic role to the Navy. A survivable ICBM would address this issue. In 1971, the Air Force started a requirements development process combining the ICBM-X and SABRE concepts into a single platform, "Missile, Experimental", or MX. The new missile would have enough accuracy and warhead payload that even a few survivors would be able to destroy enormous numbers of any remaining Soviet force. The specifications for MX were fixed in February 1972,
25410-410: Was powerful enough to destroy the silos from the point between them, 900 feet (270 m) from either silo. To attack the dense pack, separate warheads would have to be aimed at each silo. When one of the attacking warheads exploded, the blast wave and dirt thrown into the air would destroy any nearby warheads. This " fratricide theory" was highly criticized due to the expected relative ease with which
25575-574: Was released from active duty. Beginning in January 1945, Kennedy spent three months recovering from his back injury at Castle Hot Springs , a resort and temporary military hospital in Arizona. On March 1, 1945, Kennedy retired from the Navy Reserve on physical disability and was honorably discharged with the full rank of lieutenant. When later asked how he became a war hero, Kennedy joked: "It
25740-465: Was tested by SAMSO by dropping a Minuteman I from a C-5A cargo aircraft. In November, the Secretary of Defense pushed the initial operational date back from 1983 to 1985 and opened a study on the possibility of developing a single missile for both ICBM and SLBM use. A six-month study in 1977 proposed a "Low-Altitude Defense" (LoAD) system using small anti-ballistic missiles at missile fields, similar to
25905-545: Was the Minuteman III , first successfully tested in 1968 and introduced into actual use in 1970. The Minuteman III held three smaller W62 warheads, with yields of about 170 kilotons of TNT (710 TJ) each in place of the single 1.2 megatons of TNT (5.0 PJ) W56 used on the Minuteman II. From 1970 to 1975, the United States would remove approximately 550 earlier versions of the Minuteman ICBM in
26070-451: Was the youngest person ever elected to the presidency (though Theodore Roosevelt was a year younger when he succeeded to the presidency after the assassination of William McKinley in 1901). Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th president at noon on January 20, 1961. In his inaugural address , he spoke of the need for all Americans to be active citizens: "Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country." He asked
26235-501: Was the 35th president of the United States , serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the youngest person elected president. Kennedy served at the height of the Cold War , and the majority of his foreign policy concerned relations with the Soviet Union and Cuba . A Democrat , Kennedy represented Massachusetts in both houses of the United States Congress prior to his presidency. Born into
26400-409: Was the first major labor relations bill to pass either house since the Taft–Hartley Act of 1947 and dealt largely with the control of union abuses exposed by the McClellan Committee but did not incorporate tough Taft–Hartley amendments requested by President Eisenhower. It survived Senate floor attempts to include Taft-Hartley amendments and passed but was rejected by the House. "Honest union members and
26565-400: Was the issue of basing. Initial development began in 1971, with full-scale development starting in 1974. President Jimmy Carter ordered initial production in 1979 but was overturned by Congress. After considerable debate about the system, in October 1982, President Ronald Reagan announced that 50 of the newly named Peacekeepers would be put into service in existing LGM-30 Minuteman silos,
26730-449: Was the only Democrat not to cast a vote against him. Kennedy drafted a speech supporting the censure. However, it was not delivered because Kennedy was hospitalized for back surgery in Boston. Although Kennedy never indicated how he would have voted, the episode damaged his support among members of the liberal community in the 1956 and 1960 elections. In 1956, Kennedy gained control of the Massachusetts Democratic Party , and delivered
26895-442: Was to introduce the NS-17 inertial navigation system , which improved the CEP to 0.34 nautical miles (0.63 km) and allowed the missiles to attack Soviet silos directly. The other was to allow the missiles to quickly switch between a selection of eight targets, allowing them to be fired at only those Soviet silos that had not already launched. Similar improvements to Soviet missiles, real or imagined, led to US officials proposing
27060-592: Was touring the Boston wards with his grandfather Fitzgerald during his 1922 failed gubernatorial campaign. With Joe Sr.'s business ventures concentrated on Wall Street and Hollywood and an outbreak of polio in Massachusetts , the family decided to move from Boston to the Riverdale neighborhood of New York City in September 1927. Several years later, his brother Robert told Look magazine that his father left Boston because of job signs that read: " No Irish Need Apply ." The Kennedys spent summers and early autumns at their home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts ,
27225-509: Was used, and Ukrainian media initially reported it was an RS-26 Rubezh ICBM with range 5,800 km. The US and Russia confirmed it was intermediate-range (3,000–5,500 km), but the Pentagon stated it was based on the RS-26 ICBM. It was fired from the Astrakhan region 700 km away. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric called the use of the intermediate-range weapon "concerning and worrying". John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK ,
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