U.S. Submarines Are Getting a Nuclear Cruise Missile Strike Capability: Destroyers Likely to Follow

<p >A class of nuclear tipped cruise missile is planned for development for the U.S. Navy for the first time since the end of the Cold War, with the first prototype expected to be created in the next three years, according to new government documents <a href=" >viewed</a> by Russian state media. The Navy previously deployed nuclear tipped variants of the Tomahawk cruise missile from the 1980s, but retired these shortly after the Cold War ended. The Pentagon has requested that defence industry representatives <a href=" >conduct research</a> to determine whether resources are sufficient for a nuclear cruise missile class, and to assess industry's readiness to move ahead with prototype production. The new missile class is intended to be ready for deployment by the Navy by 2034, and is planned to be integrated onto the Navy’s Virginia Class attack submarines. It is likely that other attack submarine classes, and potentially the country’s Arleigh Burke and <a href=" target="_blank">Zumwalt Class destroyers</a>, will also deploy them, with all ship classes using vertical launch systems with high levels of commonality. </p><p ><img src=" title="Los Angeles Class Attack Submarine"></p><p >It remains uncertain whether the new missile class will be a derivative of the Tomahawk design already widely in use, although this is considered highly likely. What is known is that all operations related to nuclear warheads, including warhead installation, missile storage, loading and unloading, are planned to be carried out at U.S. strategic weapons sites at Naval Submarine Base King’s Bay in Georgia, and at Bangor Base, Washington State. If commissioned, the new missiles will revolutionise the ability of the U.S. Navy to conduct tactical nuclear strikes, with the service currently relying heavily on both <a href=" target="_blank">air launched nuclear weapons</a>, and on strategic ballistic missile submarines which can only contribute to a full scale nuclear exchange and are ill suited for smaller scale attacks. </p><p >The U.S. Navy currently deploys 22 Virginia Class attack submarines, with the service’s 24 Los Angeles Class attack submarines potentially also integrating the missiles. With planned expansion of the Virginia Class fleet, this will provide over 50 intercontinental range nuclear powered ships capable of launching nuclear cruise missile attacks anywhere in the world. Adding the Navy’s fleet of over 70 destroyers would further complicate adversary planning for defence against nuclear attacks. Four closely U.S.-aligned states currently deploy nuclear weapons, namely Britain, France and Israel, while three potential Western adversaries have such weapons, namely China, Russia and North Korea. The U.S. has invested heavily in modernisation of its tactical nuclear strike capabilities, and continues to share nuclear weapons with the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Turkey. Analysts have <a href=" target="_blank">posited for some years</a> that the development of a nuclear tipped submarine launched cruise missile class would facilitate a nuclear sharing agreement with Australia, which is set to acquire American nuclear powered submarines. </p>