The Navy Wants Billions For More Nuke Submarines

Long deemed unnecessary, the re-upped SLCM-N venture could cost taxpayers — and national security — big time.

By Stavroula Pabst, Responsible Statecraft

Sea-launched, nuclear-armed cruise missiles, or SLCM-Ns, were considered unnecessary for U.S. national security for years. But now, the Navy’s pushing to bring SLCM-Ns back — even if doing so costs taxpayers billions.

Indeed, U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Johnny Wolfe told House Armed Services Committee members on May 7 that the Navy was fast tracking the development of the Sea-Launched Cruise Missile – Nuclear, known as the SLCM-N, along with the Trident II D5 Strategic Weapons System and hypersonic missiles.

Speaking at the “Nuclear Forces and Atomic Energy Defense Activities Programmatic Updates” hearing, Wolfe depicted SLCM-Ns as vital for modernizing both the U.S. nuclear infrastructure and the Navy’s deterrence capacity.

SLCM-Ns bring “another option to our decision makers to deter our adversaries. It is an underlay for our triad and certainly it brings a regional weapon and a deterrent that we just don’t have today,” he told the committee.

Crucially, the SLCM-Ns differ from submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) that are already fitted on Ohio class submarines as part of the nuclear triad (land, sea, and air-launching capabilities). But the SLCM-N, intended primarily for Virginia class fast attack submarines, would provide these submarines with a shorter range cruise missile capacity.

SLCM-N proponents say the missiles are vital for national security and for maintaining a modern nuclear arsenal with greater availability and regional presence. In fact, critics say, a renewed proliferation of SLCM-Ns today could heighten prospects for nuclear conflict while doing little to meaningfully bolster deterrence.