Follow us on social

Do we need tactical nukes on US  submarines?

Do we need tactical nukes on US submarines?

A former sailor wants Congress to deny the comeback of the 'low-yield' cruise missiles because they are redundant, and dangerous.

Analysis | Global Crises

When I walked across the brow of the U.S.S. Topeka for the last time in March 2000, it was a nuclear-powered submarine in the Los Angeles class. I served four years in the vessel’s reactor compartment as a nuclear reactor operator. At the time, the vessel did not carry any nuclear missiles.

Now, a decision to add them to the Topeka and other similar submarines risks the lives of the submariners on board and the American people.

During my service, the Navy used two types of nuclear submarines. The ballistic submarine, intended to act as a deterrent to any pre-emptive nuclear strike by another country with nuclear capabilities, and the fast attack submarine, designed to spy and gather surveillance. In 2018, the Trump administration considered retrofitting in-service fast attack submarines with nuclear weapons. Today, nuclear submarines have, once again, become a hot topic, with $25 million allocated to so-called "low-yield" sea-launched cruise missiles (SLCM-Ns) in the FY23 National Defense Authorization Act. The House passed the NDAA but the Senate, the eventual conference committee between the two, and the appropriations committees all have opportunities to help stop this. Depending on the outcome, future submariners' lives may become more imperiled.

Submarines carried nuclear devices from 1959 until 1991, when President George H. W. Bush ordered the withdrawal of all tactical nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missiles from submarines. In 2010, the Obama administration recommended the Navy retire its nuclear cruise missiles, stating that the United States could continue to support its allies in Asia without these missiles, and the Navy completed their retirement in 2013. In 2018, the Trump administration issued its Nuclear Posture Review, focusing on eliminating perceived gaps in the U.S. nuclear arsenal and proposing the redeployment of nuclear cruise missiles on Navy submarines.

In 2022, the Biden administration sent its Nuclear Posture Review to Congress, with the cancellation of SLCM-Ns as a top priority. However, despite both Biden and Navy officials opposing the SLCM-N, other actors in Congress want to see these missiles stay.

There are numerous reasons to discontinue the use of SLCM-Ns with a primary one being its price tag. As of 2019, it was estimated that the missile program would cost $9 billion from 2019-2028. This projection does not account for production costs after 2028, nor does it factor in costs associated with integrating the missiles on ships.

Another reason is that the United States already has a wide array of non-strategic nuclear capabilities, making SLCM-Ns unnecessary. From heavy bombers equipped to carry gravity bombs, to air-launched cruise missiles, to short-range fighter jets, the allocation of funds to the development of SLCM-Ns is redundant. Additionally, funding the SLCM-N program will impact conventional Navy missions and the vital work being done on these vessels at present.

Finally, nuclear submarines pose numerous hazards to those on board. The sailors aboard these vessels face risks from high voltage electricity, high pressure air and water, and various toxic chemicals. Any major accident onboard a vessel could cause the entire crew to be lost at sea. Additionally, while nuclear-powered submarines are configured to mitigate most radiation exposure, there is still some opportunity for those on board to be exposed.

Perhaps the greatest risk of working aboard a nuclear submarine is the disastrous consequences of using a nuclear missile. The use of one nuclear weapon has exponential effects, which risk the lives of everyone across the globe. When sailors take their oaths upon entering the military, they commit to protecting their fellow citizens. However, the dangers posed by the use of SLCM-Ns run counter to this mission.

Presently, the United States military has a well-equipped stockpile of nuclear weapons. The allocation of funds to the development of SLCM-Ns, to serve as a so-called “deterrent” to an initial nuclear strike, is an unnecessary use of taxpayer money that carries large risks for the American public. Why expose future submariners, who already face many dangers, to the presence of nuclear bombs? What could the billions of dollars currently proposed for these submarines be used for instead? It is time to take SLCM-Ns off the table, and retire them for good.


The USS John Warner, a nuclear powered submarine, prepares for its christening in 2014. President H.W. Bush ordered nuclear weapons off of the Navy's subs in 1991. Source: U.S. Navy|180717-N-FB085-001 PEARL HARBOR (July 17, 2018) The crew of the Royal Australian Navy submarine HMAS Rankin (SSG 78) enters Pearl Harbor for a brief stop for personnel during the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, July 17, 2018. Twenty-five nations, 46 ships, five submarines, about 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 27 to Aug. 2 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security of the world’s oceans. RIMPAC 2018 is the 26th exercise in the series that began in 1971. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Cmdr. Cheryl Collins/Released)
Analysis | Global Crises
Trump steve Bannon
Top photo credit: President Donald Trump (White House/Flickr) and Steve Bannon (Gage Skidmore/Flickr)

Don't read the funeral rites for MAGA restraint yet

Washington Politics

On the same night President Donald Trump ordered U.S. airstrikes against Iran, POLITICO reported, “MAGA largely falls in line on Trump’s Iran strikes.”

The report cited “Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and critic of GOP war hawks,” who posted on X, “Iran gave President Trump no choice.” It noted that former Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, a longtime Trump supporter, “said on X that the president’s strike didn’t necessarily portend a larger conflict.” Gaetz said. “Trump the Peacemaker!”

keep readingShow less
Antonio Guterres and Ursula von der Leyen
Top image credit: Alexandros Michailidis / Shutterstock.com

UN Charter turns 80: Why do Europeans mock it so?

Europe

Eighty years ago, on June 26, 1945, the United Nations Charter was signed in San Francisco. But you wouldn’t know it if you listened to European governments today.

After two devastating global military conflicts, the Charter explicitly aimed to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.” And it did so by famously outlawing the use of force in Article 2(4). The only exceptions were to be actions taken in self-defense against an actual or imminent attack and missions authorized by the U.N. Security Council to restore collective security.

keep readingShow less
IRGC
Top image credit: Tehran Iran - November 4, 2022, a line of Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps troops crossing the street (saeediex / Shutterstock.com)

If Iranian regime collapses or is toppled, 'what's next?'

Middle East

In a startling turn of events in the Israel-Iran war, six hours after Iran attacked the Al Udeid Air Base— the largest U.S. combat airfield outside of the U.S., and home of the CENTCOM Forward Headquarters — President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire in the 12-day war, quickly taking effect over the subsequent 18 hours. Defying predictions that the Iranian response to the U.S. attack on three nuclear facilities could start an escalatory cycle, the ceasefire appears to be holding. For now.

While the bombing may have ceased, calls for regime change have not. President Trump has backtracked on his comments, but other influential voices have not. John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser, said Tuesday that regime change must still happen, “…because this is about the regime itself… Until the regime itself is gone, there is no foundation for peace and security in the Middle East.” These sentiments are echoed by many others to include, as expected, Reza Pahlavi, exiled son of the deposed shah.

keep readingShow less

LATEST

QIOSK

Newsletter

Subscribe now to our weekly round-up and don't miss a beat with your favorite RS contributors and reporters, as well as staff analysis, opinion, and news promoting a positive, non-partisan vision of U.S. foreign policy.