The U.S. Navy conducted a successful test flight Feb. 13 of a Trident II D5 Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) built by Lockheed Martin. The Navy launched the unarmed missile from the submerged submarine USS Alabama (SSBN 731) in the Pacific Ocean. The Trident II D5 missile now has achieved 126 successful test flights since 1989 – a record unmatched by any other large ballistic missile or space launch vehicle.

The Navy launched the missile as part of a Demonstration and Shakedown Operation (DASO) to certify USS Alabama for deployment, following a shipyard overhaul period and conversion from Trident I C4 to Trident II D5 configuration. For the test, a missile was converted into a test configuration using a test missile kit produced by Lockheed Martin that contains range safety devices and flight telemetry instrumentation.

First deployed in 1990, the D5 missile is currently aboard OHIO-class submarines and British VANGUARD-class submarines. The three-stage, solid-propellant, inertial-guided ballistic missile can travel a nominal range of 4,000 nautical miles and carries multiple independently targeted reentry vehicles.