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1994-11-02
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The Peacekeeper is an intercontinental ballistic missile that is deployed in
former Minutemen silos. A total of 100 Peacekeeper missiles will be
installed before the project is completed in the mid-1990s. Because of
delays, the Peacekeeper has proved to be the most expensive ICBM ever
built.
The Peacekeeper uses a unique guidance system and a computer that can
perform 2000,000 operations per second. The computer monitors missile
status, aligns the inertial platform, monitors the missile's progress toward
the target, and sends adjustment signals to the guidance system. The
guidance system is so accurate that the missile's warheads can be expected
to fall within 175 feet of their targets.
The Peacekeeper was designed to counter the threat of enemy ICBMs, and to
replace the aging and less capable Titan II missiles. The limits set by the
Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) agreement slowed U.S. efforts to
replace older missiles with the Peacekeeper on a one-to-one basis. Now in
the post-cold war era, missiles such as this one may become obsolete
dinosaurs of the past.