# 1974 MINUTEMAN ICBM AIR LAUNCHED BALLISTIC MISSILE TEST PROGRAM 45154

This film "Air Mobile Feasibility Demonstration" chronicles the development of an Air Launched Ballistic Missile system. The ALBM concept was viewed as a potential game changer for strategic deterrence, allowing missiles to be deployed to remote locations at a moments' notice. As shown in the film, starting in the early 1970s, the USAF tested air-launching a Minuteman 1b ICBM from a C-5A Galaxy transport aircraft. (Note: the test proved the feasibility of launching an intercontinental ballistic missile from the air. In the end however, operational deployment of ALBM was discarded due to engineering and security difficulties, though the capability was used as a negotiating point in the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks.) The film documents the successful development and testing of an air-launchable Minuteman ICBM, demonstrating the ability to safely drop and fire an intercontinental ballistic missile from a Lockheed C-5A aircraft. Over several months in 1974, a dedicated Air Force and industry task force conducted a series of progressively heavier dummy payload drops to refine the rigging, parachute extraction systems, and aircraft compatibility. After overcoming challenges such as platform flexing and parachute failures, the team perfected a reliable extraction system using clustered parachutes. This paved the way for multiple inert missile drops and, ultimately, a live missile test where the first stage ignited successfully after clean separation from the aircraft. The…

- Kind: Film
- Genres: Industrial and advertising
- Archive: [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/45154AirMobileFeasibilityDemonstration)
- Licence or status: none stated by the archive
- Who can watch: Tweens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/ia/45154AirMobileFeasibilityDemonstration?play=1)