The
Poseidon missile was the second
US Navy [ballistic missile]
? system, powered by a two-stage solid fuel rocket. It succeeded the
Polaris missile beginning in
1972, bringing major advances in warheads and accuracy. It was followed by
Trident I in
1979, and Trident II in
1990.
Poseidon, although longer and considerably heavier than Polaris A-3, had the same 4600 km (2500 nautical mile) range. It also had Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicles (MIRV) and improved accuracy.