| Is Missile: | yes |
| SSM-N-6 Rigel | |
| Origin: | United States |
| Type: | Cruise missile |
| Used By: | United States Navy |
| Manufacturer: | Grumman |
| Engine: | 2 × Marquardt 28 ramjet 6000lbf 4 × booster rockets 8000lbf |
| Weight: | 23800lb (with boosters) 13000lb (w/o boosters) |
| Length: | 46inchesft1inchesin (ftin) |
| Diameter: | 3.75feet |
| Wingspan: | 13inchesft4inchesin (ftin) |
| Speed: | Mach 2 |
| Vehicle Range: | 500nmi |
| Filling: | 3000lb such as the W5 warhead |
| Launch Platform: | submarine |
The SSM-N-6 Rigel was a proposed United States Navy submarine-launched, nuclear-capable ramjet-powered cruise missile.
The Rigel missile was named after Rigel, the brightest star in the constellation Orion.[1]
In 1946 the US Navy sanctioned development of the Rigel missile as a sub-launched supersonic weapon to attack enemy shores, in parallel with development of the subsonic SSM-N-8 Regulus. The SSM-N-6 was to be launched by means of 4 rocket boosters and a catapult, with two ramjets for the cruise mode of the flight.
Several Rigel test articles were built to test the planned ramjet system for the Rigel missile. They had a single ramjet and a single rocket booster. Subsequently, scaled-down Flight Test Vehicles (FTVs) were built with a configuration similar to the full-scale missile, and the first FTV launch occurred in May 1950. Unfortunately, plans to build the SSM-N-6 missiles were cancelled because the failure of FTV flight tests, but also due to the fact that Rigel posed a problem for submariners by requiring a longer launch rail on submarines than the SSM-N-8 Regulus.[2]
United States Navy (planned)