How To Launch A Nuclear Tomahawk Missile 

Ryan: Announces selling exact scale replicas of the Nuclear PTF keys from New Jersey. Someone in the military: Almost has a heart attack and orders immediate re-keying of a bunch of nuclear launch sites that have been keyed the same as New Jersey for the last few decades or so.

“This is the LockPickingLawyer”

Just the type of a DIY project I need on a Monday evening

Next episode: How a curator escapes NCIS

Ryan and Libby seem to be the smartest and nicest people to ever own a Battleship 😊😊😊😊😊

I love how at 11:28, you enable the Missile, and the screen above shows the launch of a Missile just a few seconds later.

A relative of mine was in a missile silo during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He told me three things: First, everyone in the silos would have launched if given the order. Second, they quickly figured out that one man could launch despite the two-man safeguards. Third, they could launch even without the codes.

TPI, two person integrity. As a former CTO who handled keying material, TPI was an important part of our jobs. And failure to follow established procedures could result in Captains Mast or Court Martial.

I would love it if you guys could team up with a theater group and have them act out these sorts of scenarios. Would be interesting to see how long it takes from when they first get the order till the final button pushes. Great video! I'm gonna visit the site on Black Dragon Fri!

I heard a funny but scary story from a boomer sailor. each tube on a boomer has an key that's required to let that specific tube to be fired. you see this on Crimson Tide too, where the capt pulls out several keys early on to hand to a runner. they take em down to the missile techs (MT). anyways, the scary part was, they somehow figured out that the key to their maintenance cabinet was identical to one of the tubes keys. the navy does source a lot of their keys thru a common key GSA contract. he spent the rest of the cruise destroying other maintenance keys.

The replica nuclear launch keys are available to order today.

2:54 Wood console CRT TV and a VCR. ❤ Makes me feel like playing some Mario Kart.

The video was very informative and I appreciate the effort to relay this critical step by step process with regard to launching a BGM-109A TLAM-N. As a Tomahawk DBM stationed on the USS Wisconsin (BB-64) during Operation Desert Storm, the firing procedure was very thorough. Not sure if you’re aware of DSMAC (Digital Scene Mapping Area Correlation) but this would guide the missile towards its final target. TERCOM, (Terrain Contour Matching) to which you reference is the initial phase and DSMAC guides the missile into final destination or in your case “the window”. BZ Shipmate!

In the Air Force, I worked on the 465L SACCS RCC. This was one of the systems to pass the Presidential Emergency War Order from HQ SAC to the Bomber/Tanker Wings and to the ICBM launch crews. I just called it the OH CRAP! message. You knew you were going to have a very crappy day quickly! In the Bombers, you had even more safeties as when the aircraft took off, the nuclear bombs were not yet armed. The crew had to receive radio messages prior to reaching their Fail Safe mission point. Only with the info in these messages could the crew arm the nukes. If no message prior to the Fail Safe point, the crew's order is to return to base. In effect a passive recall order. Part of the arming process is for each crewman had to on command toggle their switch. Each was located in a hard to reach position to insure a deliberate action. I have been told that being double jointed is helpful in reaching the switch. So like the USS New Jersey, sending the bombers on their way is a very deliberate time consuming task with a lot of possitive communications. I am glad that back then, it was never actually done...for obvious reasons.

Possibly the best Battleship NJ video to date.

Loved this episode, I was an ICBM maintainer for 9 years & great to see how nukes were fired afloat. Hand-Salute to all the vets out there - Happy Gobble day!

Thank Ryan! I ordered a "Tomahauk Missile" kit on Amazon, but the instructions were all in Chinese. Now I know how to launch it, at least if I can find a battleship to mount it on. Seems that's the one thing China doesn't yet make (thankfully).

Such a GREAT video Ryan!

We have to remember TLAM-N’s - regardless of which ship does or doesn’t carry them - are TACTICAL nukes. It carried a variable yield 4-150kiloton warhead, whereas the TITAN II ICBM operated by the AF had a 4 MEGAton warhead. So unlike the AF missile sites that needed to be able to launch before they are hit by incoming nukes, a tactical nuke doesn’t need to be kept at moments readiness. Or even the readiness of the missiles on a boomer.

I’m convinced that Missouri and Wisconsin were both carrying nuclear tipped Tomahawks during the 1991 Gulf War. Neither fired 32 missiles, just 27 or 28. Unfortunately it’s one of those things we will never know.

That’s a title I never thought I’d see on RU-vid 😅

Thank you for this information, I will be sure to try this out the next chance I get

Thanks!

Interesting , Thank You .

Dang! Rank *does* have it’s privileges! That Captain’s cabin is huge!

noted, thank you

Crimson Tide is one of my favorite naval movies of all time. There are other navy themed movies with great casts, but Crimson Tide is hard to beat. Plus whenever someone says a message must be authenticated I think about the officer carrying the message across the bridge to Gene Hackman.

Never tire of the Under Siege references. Hope to visit one day, but until then I’ll keep watching!

One thing I’ve always thought about with nuclear release procedures, is there are lots of single point failures. It seems like even a minor casualty even could knock out a ships ability to use its nuclear arsenal. I’m not saying the alternative is better, it’s just interesting to me.

The missile knows where the missile is...

I wouldn't have been surprised (when he pressed the final button) if alarms went off, as if they actually initiated a launch...complete with sounds of a launch, fire and smoke...to fake us out. 🚨🚀🔥🌫😱

In fact, 4 keys are required to launch land-based ICBMs. Two capsules with two launch crew members are interlocked so that launch requires four keys to be active. Of course the capsule crews do not know which two capsules are connected within the ICBM wing structure, thus preventing the possibility of one crew deciding to launch on its own initiative. Additional protection is built into the warheads themselves through a permission code link

I love those CEC console chairs. I wonder if Emco would sell me one...

the missile knows where it is, because it knows where it isn’t…

I say we petition the Navy to make Ryan an admiral tbh

The scariest part was relying on a printer to print when it absolutely needed to.

I really like the multiple redundancy controls and hard lockouts on nuclear weapons, but dang this process seems extremely slow especially when a single person has to do multiple actions in different rooms. I would think it could be streamlined for time and still provide the safety from a rogue launch.

The missile knows where it is at all times. It knows this because it knows where it isn't. By subtracting where it is from where it isn't, or where it isn't from where it is (whichever is greater), it obtains a difference, or deviation. The guidance subsystem uses deviations to generate corrective commands to drive the missile from a position where it is to a position where it isn't, and arriving at a position where it wasn't, it now is. Consequently, the position where it is, is now the position that it wasn't, and it follows that the position that it was, is now the position that it isn't. In the event that the position that it is in is not the position that it wasn't, the system has acquired a variation, the variation being the difference between where the missile is, and where it wasn't. If variation is considered to be a significant factor, it too may be corrected by the GEA. However, the missile must also know where it was. The missile guidance computer scenario works as follows. Because a variation has modified some of the information the missile has obtained, it is not sure just where it is. However, it is sure where it isn't, within reason, and it knows where it was. It now subtracts where it should be from where it wasn't, or vice-versa, and by differentiating this from the algebraic sum of where it shouldn't be, and where it was, it is able to obtain the deviation and its variation, which is called error.

You’re correct the name is official response to that is I can neither confirm or deny any nuclear weapon aboard any ship or airplane

Happy Thanksgiving Battleship New Jersey.

So..Ryan. Just an observation not a criticism. I'm a locksmith. At the beginning of the video you showed both keys..I'm a locksmith by trade. I do what locksmiths do..sooooo..By the time the video where you say that you are selling oversized replicas( which I will still purchase), I knew exactly what key blank was used and I knew the exact biting code to use to cut the keys. I won't publish the blank or the code as both could lead to someone snapping one off in the keyway. I will tell you that for a nuclear launch key, it is not a restricted blank and is somewhat common. Keep up the great videos.

Hard drives for guidance is a lot better than punched paper tape... which was used on some ICBMs which I will still not name, at a time which I still will not name... but it's what we had, and it worked.

Really cool thank you for sharing. Saved play list: How to repair my oil burner How to service my transmission How to launch a nuke tomahawk cruise missile 🤙

Hey Ryan, I just ordered my key and teak. Where can I get an HD logo of USS New Jersey? I want to put the key and teak in a shadow box to display, so I need a nice logo for it.

👍👍

AT what moment and how does the TERCOM terrain data become transfered from the 30lb hard drive to the missile itself?

The new minuteman missile controls are down to 1 key and 3 knobs, and the launch officers sit next to one and other now.

How does the american DD's reload torpedoes were are the reloads located ?

It is alway so weird to see from a civilian perspective, how large those ships are from the outside, but still so tiny in space actually inside.

Was the guidance package harddrive put into the track side console in the CEC? It was a little unclear what happened to it once it got to the CEC.

Do you have tomahawk missiles in the merch store I’d like 2 please.

actually that system is more secure than a missile silo after seeing the system in a titan silo figured out how to bypass the two man system in 5 minutes and after seeing the minuteman 2 minutes with the titan info!!

Building a Lego Iowa during this

The missile knows where it is at all times, it knows this because it knows where it isn't.

That looks like my front door key. I did wonder what that BANG was when I locked my door last night…..

Yep that is not secondary fire control but first strike attack

Did she have any nuclear blackout curtains on the bridge?

All those 'safeguards' and the officer forgot the combination to the 'final' safe.

Go for it. Straight to DC.

The facts are that one of the key reasons that the Iowa class battleships were brought back as launch platforms for the Tomahawk missiles. The Tomahawk missile was intended as a nuclear missile. It is logical that at least some ship possibly had nuclear Tomahawks. There was plans and procedures to launch nuclear weapons. That much is clear. However, there are ballistic missile submarines available. They are harder to detect and harder to find. The clear thing is they were trained to launch nuclear weapons. As far as if any nuclear Tomahawks were carried by Iowa class battleships. It's possible they carried them, however, it is unlikely that we'll ever know about it. The chances are very few people actually knew the weapons were nuclear. There's also the possibility some were told they had nuclear Tomahawks when they were conventional.

Wouldnt the admiral also get it

How much information does the guidance package contain? 100 KB, 1Mb or 100 MB? Is it possible to receive new guidance packages via satellite communication while at sea and record them on HDD instead of the old ones? Are guidance packages loaded into the rocket via the launch console?

I really need to Tomahawk Enable/Inhibit Key too please

💻🔊"Would you like to play a game Dr. Falken?"

So how would you fire a 16inch nuclear shell? Would it be about the same?

Did I miss something about how to get the 15% off? The price is still $10.99 on Black Dragon Friday. I just want to make sure bedrove I pull the trigger, as it were. Also, do not underestimate Tommy Lee Jones, he is a very capable individual.

Wouldnt he be in at sea cabin

I guess I'm dense, but this seems very complicated whenin a war scenario.

Speaking of missiles how does the navy remove/repair something that’s damaged deep inside the ship that would require it to be removed from the ship

And here I wanted to order a Nuclear PTF key just to use with my gate keys (as a conversation starter) and... shipping only to the US. Bummer. But understandable not many Europeans are interested in navy ships of even their own country let alone the US. Oh well. Another motivation to go to the US.

What about non-nuclear Tomahawks, same process? Chief Ryback was asking, Stranix was messing with them.

Did New Jersey carry tomahawk missiles during it's service?

I understand it must be feasible, but it is hard to imagine the captain of the ship being so uninterested in nuclear warfare as to hand it off to a subordinate.

Yep! During the last Imaginary Final Countdown video on this some insisted that the Capt and OX could do all of this on their own. I called BS back then. Look at all of the steps and people involved just to launch a single missile. AND the need for an Action Message. NO, two guys on a ship could NOT do this on their own.

Fast & Far seems to be ideal for a nuclear missile.

I get the complexity of the nuclear missile. But how much of that is cut out for a normal missile?

Jesus, the war would be over by the time they did all that hullabaloo just to launch 😂

What about the keys to the strawberries? 🔑🍓

I was wondering: how long would the whole process even take?

@10:55, it's taken 50 or 15 minutes?

Those stations have just got it through to me how dated this ship is.

I noticed you didn’t show what “the plug” looks like, is that because you don’t have keys for it? If you really want to get in there without causing any damage to the locks you could probably have a locksmith pick it open so you can display what it would have looked like. In fact you might not even need a locksmith, a lot of active or ex military personnel who visit the ship probably have the tools and skills to pick the lock open.

Just seemed the process was slow.

Given the complexity of the nuclear launching process, the probability that any nuclear Tomahawk could be launched, is essentially zero. One carrier of the appropriate message, tripping down a ladder, would stop the whole process. I was on a ship where the ladder went over my head, during a roll, and I had to hook my leg around the rail to stay attached. Any storm would stop the process. As would any rough weather.

I am glad it takes nearly an hour to process all the steps to make a launch possible. I am also glad it’s not 4 hours! It does make me a bit shaken by the fact that these are government employees entrusted to follow this step by step process! I’ve seen sailors in port, they don’t always act responsible enough to flip a light switch let alone access keys to end the world! I do admit that it’s worked so far so good, keep up the good work!

10:54 im sorry is that 15 minutes or 50 minutes?

You are awesome, but there’s only one “U” in “nuclear”…

That’s classified sir

Be as nuclear or missilised as you want I still want big guns on my warship!

History has proven that only Steven Segeal could stop Tommy Lee Jones.... sadly.

Knock Knock Knock ... "Sorry to bother you, Skipper ... we got a Nuclear Tomahawk Missile Fire Order ... we're sorry to take you away from your cup of Earl Grey tea & Good Book ... but could you just sign off on this, and give us the Launch Keys? That's, Cap'n ... We're having a fresh Wedge Salad with Roquefort Dressing tonight in the Wardroom ... we hope you'll join us ... the Stewards even mentioned fresh Granny Smith Apple slices, Cheddar Cheese, & Crackers ... anyway we gotta go shoot off some TLAM-Ns ... We'll see you at dinner Sir ... "

Best movie as a kid is war games.

Paypal link does not work.

With the time required to do all the verification's and running around the ship, it would seem that this would really only work for a first strike and not a retaliatory strike.

LINK...not SAFETY LINK if launching, LINK are pinned specific to the TOMAHAWK WARHEAD

PLEASE tell me that Tommy Lee Jones is coming on as a guest for this episode? No? OK, how about Busey? Not him either? OK...how about Colm Meany? He is busy with Trek conventions...got it. At least you got Richard Andrew Jones...the guy who played Pitt? LOL OK...that is enough of that joke....I will stop now. 😁

The question about this that I've always had is, what happens if the code on the emergency message doesn't match the code pulled from the safe? Since the code is out of the safe it's spoiled, right? So the next emergency message would have to know not to use that code, right? How do surface ships and submarines handle that synchronization, especially in the case of a communication restriction?

I guess they didn’t use a Permissive Action Link to unlock the warhead. US Army nuclear warheads were locked and it took a 6 digit code to have a big boom. The code chain started with the President down to the soldiers that inputted the enabling numbers. You had 2 separate teams decoding 3 of the 6 numbers to maintain 2 man control. Then you dialed in your 3 numbers, and the other team member input his. Each step of the aiming process also had someone check the work of the other person.

That not how Tommoy Lee jones did it in the documentary under siege.

I read there was a false positive in Russia and there was a scramble to Boris Yeltsin’s football but was cancelled.