Munitions

RUM-139 VL-ASROC

Also known as
  • VL-ASROC
  • VLA
  • Vertical Launch ASROC
  • Vertical Launch Anti-Submarine Rocket
  • Vertical Launch Anti-Submarine Rocket ASROC
  • RUM-139A
  • RUM-139B
  • RUM-139C
  • RTM-139

The RUM-139 VL-ASROC is a U.S. Navy surface-ship launched anti-submarine missile that carries a lightweight torpedo from a Mk 41 vertical launch cell to a water-entry point near a submarine target. Official Navy, NAVSEA, Lockheed Martin, and specialist reference sources frame it as the vertical-launch ASROC successor for Aegis-equipped ships, with payload evolution from MK 46 variants toward MK 54.

RUM-139 VL-ASROC, Vertical-launch anti-submarine missile, Munitions
Image source: USS Mustin launches RUM-139 VL-ASROC in March 2014.JPG
Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
United States
Type
Vertical-launch anti-submarine missile
Service note
1993-present
Designer
Goodyear Aerospace
Designed
1983
Produced
1993-present
Number built
More than 450 by 2007
Developed from
RUR-5 ASROC

Specifications

Primary function
Surface-ship launched anti-submarine missile
Length
16.7 ft (4.89 m)
Diameter
14.1 in (35.8 cm)
Weight
1,650 lb (748 kg)
Range
Over 10 miles; specialist references also describe about 15 nm
Propulsion
Solid propellant rocket with MK 114 MOD 0 booster
Guidance
Digital autopilot with thrust-vector control after vertical launch
Payload
MK 46 Mod 5A(SW) or MK 54 lightweight torpedo
Launch interface
MK 41 Vertical Launching System
Ship combat-system context
Aegis-equipped cruisers and destroyers with SQQ-89 ASW Combat System
Variants

Public sources use the RUM-139A/B/C sequence mainly to distinguish payload-torpedo and integration changes rather than separate launch-platform families.

VariantConfigurationDesignation notes
RUM-139AInitial VL-ASROC missile

Designation-Systems describes RUM-139A as a RUR-5-derived missile with a new booster section for MK 41 VLS launch and a MK 46 MOD 5A payload.

Sources: Lockheed Martin (Loral) RUM-139 VL-Asroc

RUM-139BShallow-water torpedo payload standard

The same reference says RUM-139B used the MK 46 MOD 5A(SW) torpedo after the fleet moved from the earlier RUM-139A payload configuration.

Sources: Lockheed Martin (Loral) RUM-139 VL-Asroc

RUM-139CMK 54 payload configuration

Designation-Systems identifies RUM-139C as the VL-ASROC variant carrying the MK 54 MOD 0 torpedo, while Navy fact files say the MK 54 VLA system reached IOC in 2010.

Sources: Lockheed Martin (Loral) RUM-139 VL-Asroc, MK 54 - Lightweight Torpedo

RTM-139Training missile family

Designation-Systems describes RTM-139 training variants with inert exercise torpedoes for RUM-139A/B/C configurations.

Sources: Lockheed Martin (Loral) RUM-139 VL-Asroc

Launch Platforms

Navy fact files describe VLA as a surface-ship launched anti-submarine missile carried by Aegis-equipped cruisers and destroyers with the MK 41 Vertical Launching System.

LauncherLauncher typeLaunch evidence
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, Guided-missile destroyer, Naval SystemsArleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyerGuided-missile destroyer

The VLA fact file says the missile is carried by Aegis-equipped destroyers with MK 41 VLS, and the DDG 51 fact file lists ASROC in the Arleigh Burke-class armament summary.

Sources: Vertical Launch Anti-Submarine Rocket ASROC (VLA) Missile, Destroyers (DDG 51)

Delivered Torpedoes

VL-ASROC extends the reach of a lightweight torpedo by carrying it from the ship's vertical launcher to a water-entry point near the submarine target.

Carried itemItem typeCarriage evidence
MK-46 torpedo, Lightweight anti-submarine torpedo, MunitionsMK-46 torpedoLightweight anti-submarine torpedo

The Navy VLA fact file identifies MK 46 Mod 5A(SW) as a VLA payload, and the MK 46 fact file separately identifies MK 46 MOD 5A(SW) as a payload for Vertical Launch ASROC.

Sources: Vertical Launch Anti-Submarine Rocket ASROC (VLA) Missile, MK 46 - Lightweight Torpedo

MK 54 lightweight torpedo, Lightweight anti-submarine torpedo, MunitionsMK 54 lightweight torpedoLightweight anti-submarine torpedo

The Navy VLA and MK 54 fact files identify MK 54 as a VL-ASROC payload path, with the MK 54 VLA system reaching IOC in 2010.

Sources: Vertical Launch Anti-Submarine Rocket ASROC (VLA) Missile, MK 54 - Lightweight Torpedo

Combat-System Context

The missile is not an Aegis component by itself, but Navy sources place VLA aboard Aegis-equipped ships with MK 41 VLS and SQQ-89 ASW combat-system context.

Compatible itemItem typeCompatibility evidence
Aegis Combat System, Shipboard integrated combat system, Naval SystemsAegis Combat SystemShipboard combat system

The Navy VLA fact file identifies Aegis-equipped cruisers and destroyers as the ship context for the missile, and the Aegis fact file describes Aegis as integrating sensors, command-and-control, weapons, and the MK 41 VLS on cruisers and destroyers.

Sources: Vertical Launch Anti-Submarine Rocket ASROC (VLA) Missile, AEGIS Weapon System Fact File

Launch And Payload Architecture

VL-ASROC is a shipboard delivery weapon: the missile leaves a vertical launch cell, pitches over under booster and autopilot control, then releases a lightweight torpedo near the ocean-surface aim point. That architecture separates the shipboard launch problem from the torpedo's underwater search and attack phase.

Launcher

NAVSEA describes the MK 41 VLS as a fixed vertical multi-missile storage and firing system that supports Vertical Launch ASROC among other Navy missiles.

Ship integration

The Navy VLA fact file places the weapon on Aegis-equipped cruisers and destroyers with MK 41 VLS and the SQQ-89 ASW Combat System.

Flight path

Navy and specialist sources describe a solid booster, thrust-vector control, and digital autopilot that turn the missile from vertical launch into the ballistic delivery trajectory.

Payload transition

The U.S. Navy says VLA moved from MK 46 payloads toward the MK 54 after the MK 54 Mod 0 IOC, while Designation-Systems maps that payload change onto RUM-139B and RUM-139C designations.

Sources: Vertical Launch Anti-Submarine Rocket ASROC (VLA) Missile; Launchers; Lockheed Martin (Loral) RUM-139 VL-Asroc; MK 54 - Lightweight Torpedo.

Timeline

RUM-139 VL-ASROC Key Events

  1. Full-scale development begins

    Designation-Systems reports that Goodyear received the full-scale development contract for the RUM-139A VL-ASROC in 1983.

    Sources: Lockheed Martin (Loral) RUM-139 VL-Asroc

  2. RUM-139A reaches operational service

    The same specialist reference says RUM-139A became operational with U.S. Navy ships in 1993.

    Sources: Lockheed Martin (Loral) RUM-139 VL-Asroc

  3. MK 54 production and RUM-139C path

    Designation-Systems links the RUM-139C payload configuration to the MK 54 MOD 0 torpedo, and the Navy says MK 54 MOD 0 reached IOC in 2004.

    Sources: Lockheed Martin (Loral) RUM-139 VL-Asroc, MK 54 - Lightweight Torpedo

  4. MK 54 VLA reaches IOC

    The Navy MK 54 fact file lists the MK 54 Vertical Launched Anti-Submarine Rocket system as reaching Initial Operational Capability in 2010.

    Sources: MK 54 - Lightweight Torpedo

  5. USS Pinckney exercise launch documented

    DVIDS identifies a public-domain video of USS Pinckney launching a VLA MK 46 exercise torpedo during a live-fire exercise in the Pacific.

    Sources: Live Fire Exercise

Media

RUM-139 VL-ASROC Images

RUM-139 VL-ASROC, Vertical-launch anti-submarine missile, Munitions - view 1
Source: US Navy 110620-N-HV737-005 The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen (DDG 82) fires a vertically launched anti-submarine rocket d.jpg
RUM-139 VL-ASROC, Vertical-launch anti-submarine missile, Munitions - view 2
Source: USS Michael Murphy launches its first missile. (8572073262).jpg
Related Weapon Systems
MK 54 lightweight torpedo, Lightweight anti-submarine torpedo, MunitionsMunitionsMK 54 lightweight torpedoLightweight anti-submarine torpedoThe MK 54 lightweight torpedo is a U.S. Navy anti-submarine torpedo carried by surface ships, MH-60R helicopters, P-8A maritime patrol aircraft, and VL-ASROC delivery rockets. Official Navy, RTX, NAVAIR, Boeing, and DOT&E sources describe a hybrid MK 46/MK 50 lineage, Mod 1 sonar and processing upgrades, the P-8A HAAWC air-launch accessory path, and a Mod 2 Advanced Lightweight Torpedo modernization still tracked publicly as a development program rather than a conflict-use record.
River-class destroyer, Guided missile destroyer, Naval SystemsNaval SystemsRiver-class destroyerGuided missile destroyerThe River-class destroyer is Canada's future guided-missile destroyer class, a 15-ship Royal Canadian Navy program based on BAE Systems' Type 26 Global Combat Ship and built through Irving Shipbuilding with Lockheed Martin Canada as design lead. Current official fact sheets describe a SPY-7/Aegis combat-system architecture, a 24-cell Mk 41 vertical launch battery for SM-2, ESSM, and Tomahawk missiles, Naval Strike Missile, Rolling Airframe Missile, Mk 54 torpedoes, and a CH-148 Cyclone aviation facility.
Anti-aircraft missiles, Ship-launched surface-to-air missile, MunitionsMunitionsAnti-aircraft missilesShip-launched surface-to-air missileShip-launched surface-to-air missiles documented in the Choe Hyon destroyer's air-defense fit. CSIS identifies the destroyer's air-defense system as Russian Pantsir-M and reports anti-aircraft missile launches during the 28 April 2025 test activity, while Naval News separately notes an unspecified forward VLS-launched SAM and a Pantsir-M-style close-in weapon system with short-range missiles. The exact North Korean missile designation remains publicly unconfirmed.
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, Guided-missile destroyer, Naval SystemsNaval SystemsArleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyerGuided-missile destroyerThe Arleigh Burke class is the U.S. Navy's long-running DDG 51 guided-missile destroyer family, built around the Aegis Weapon System, Mk 41 vertical launch cells, gas-turbine propulsion, and multi-mission air, surface, subsurface, ballistic-missile-defense, and land-attack roles. The class entered service with USS Arleigh Burke in 1991, spans Flight I through Flight III hulls, and continues in production with the Flight III configuration centered on AN/SPY-6(V)1 radar and Aegis Baseline 10.
JL-3 submarine-launched ballistic missile, Submarine-launched ballistic missile, MunitionsMunitionsJL-3 submarine-launched ballistic missileSubmarine-launched ballistic missileThe JL-3 is a Chinese solid-fueled submarine-launched ballistic missile reported as the CSS-N-20 and as a longer-range follow-on to the JL-2 for China's sea-based nuclear deterrent. U.S. Department of Defense reporting says China probably fielded the missile on Jin-class Type 094 submarines, while specialist assessments caution that the pace of JL-2 replacement and exact payload details remain publicly uncertain.
Hobart-class air warfare destroyer, Guided-missile destroyer, Naval SystemsNaval SystemsHobart-class air warfare destroyerGuided-missile destroyerThe Hobart-class air warfare destroyer is Australia's three-ship Aegis-equipped guided-missile destroyer class, adapted from Navantia's F100 design and built in Australia by the Air Warfare Destroyer Alliance. Its public record is strongest as a fleet air-defense, escort, surface-strike, and undersea-warfare platform: the class combines AN/SPY-1D(V), Aegis Baseline 7.1, SM-2, ESSM, Harpoon, helicopter facilities, torpedoes, and a 48-cell Mk 41 vertical launch system, with later Australian test firings adding Naval Strike Missile, SM-6, and Tomahawk integration context.

Sources

Vertical Launch Anti-Submarine Rocket ASROC (VLA) MissilePublisher: United States Navy | Note: Supports VLA background, Lockheed Martin contractor context, surface-ship launch role, Aegis/MK 41/SQQ-89 carrier-platform context, MK 46 and MK 54 payloads, and general technical data. | Accessed: 2026-07-03Lockheed Martin (Loral) RUM-139 VL-AsrocPublisher: Designation-Systems.Net | Note: Supports RUM-139 lineage, Goodyear/Loral/Lockheed development history, 1993 operational service, MK 41 integration, digital autopilot, payload-specific variants, training variants, production count, and detailed dimensions. | Accessed: 2026-07-03Vertical Launch Antisubmarine Missile VLA Product CardPublisher: Lockheed Martin | Note: Supports manufacturer product context, MK 46/MK 54 compatibility, MK 41 VLS launch context, and standoff anti-submarine role. | Accessed: 2026-07-03LaunchersPublisher: Naval Sea Systems Command | Note: Supports MK 41 VLS as a fixed vertical multi-missile storage and firing system that supports Vertical Launch ASROC, Tomahawk, Standard Missile, and ESSM. | Accessed: 2026-07-03Destroyers (DDG 51)Publisher: United States Navy | Note: Supports the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer armament summary that lists ASROC and the MK 41 vertical launch battery. | Accessed: 2026-07-03AEGIS Weapon System Fact FilePublisher: United States Navy | Note: Supports Aegis command-and-control, multi-mission integration, cruiser/destroyer context, and MK 41 VLS launch-system architecture. | Accessed: 2026-07-03MK 46 - Lightweight TorpedoPublisher: United States Navy | Note: Supports MK 46 MOD 5A(SW) as a Vertical Launch ASROC payload and baseline MK 46 torpedo specifications. | Accessed: 2026-07-03MK 54 - Lightweight TorpedoPublisher: United States Navy | Note: Supports MK 54 identity, MK 46/MK 50 lineage, MOD 0 and MOD 1 IOC dates, specifications, and the MK 54 VLA system IOC in 2010. | Accessed: 2026-07-03Live Fire ExercisePublisher: Defense Visual Information Distribution Service | Note: Supports public-domain exercise-footage context for USS Pinckney launching a VLA MK 46 exercise torpedo on December 5, 2018; this is exercise media, not conflict-use evidence. | Accessed: 2026-07-03USS Mustin launches RUM-139 VL-ASROC in March 2014.JPGPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and public-domain licensing for the primary launch photo. | Accessed: 2026-07-03US Navy 110620-N-HV737-005 The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen (DDG 82) fires a vertically launched anti-submarine rocket d.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and public-domain licensing for the Lassen launch photo. | Accessed: 2026-07-03USS Michael Murphy launches its first missile. (8572073262).jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and public-domain licensing for the Michael Murphy launch photo. | Accessed: 2026-07-03