The [Ohio class] submarine has the
capacity for
24
Trident missile tubes in two rows
of 12. The dimensions of the Trident II missile are length 1,360cm x
diameter 210cm and the weight is 59,000kg. The three-stage solid fuel
rocket motor is built by ATK (Alliant Techsystems) Thiokol Propulsion.
The US Navy gives the range as "greater than 7,360km" but this could be
up to 12,000km depending on the payload mix. Missile guidance is
provided by an inertial navigation system, supported by stellar
navigation. Trident II is capable of carrying up to twelve MIRVs
(multiple independent re-entry vehicles), each with a yield of 100
kilotons, although the SALT treaty limits this number to eight per
missile. The circle of equal probability (the radius of the circle
within which half the strikes will impact) is less than 150m. The
Sperry Univac Mark 98 missile control system controls the 24 missiles.
The 14 Trident II SSBNs carry together around 50 percent of total U.S.
strategic warheads. (The exact number varies in an
unpredictable and highly classified manner below a maximum set by
various strategic arms limitation treaties.) Although the
missiles have no pre-set targets when the submarine goes on patrol, the
SSBNs are capable of rapidly targeting their missiles
should the need arise, using secure and constant at-sea communications
links. The
Ohio class are the largest submarines
ever built for the
U.S. Navy, and are second
only to the Russian
Typhoon class in mass
and size. A single submarine carries the destructive power more than
nine
times greater than all Allied ordnance dropped in WWII.
Only the whales and dolphins know where these submarines are when they
are out on patrol. Not even the president knows their exact location.
"Somewhere in the Pacific."
When the Soviet Union achieved nuclear
parity with the United States, the Cold War had entered a new phase.
The cold war became a conflict more dangerous and unmanageable than
anything Americans had faced before. In the old cold war Americans had
enjoyed superior nuclear force, an unchallenged economy, strong
alliances, and a trusted Imperial President to direct his incredible
power against the Soviets. In the new cold war, however, Russian forces
achieved nuclear equality. Each side could destroy the other many times.This fact was officially accepted in a military doctrine
known as Mutual Assured Destruction, a.k.a. MAD. Mutual Assured
Destruction began to emerge at the end of the Kennedy administration.
MAD reflects the idea that one's population could best be protected by
leaving it vulnerable so long as the other side faced comparable
vulnerabilities. In short: Whoever shoots first, dies second.
If Iran needs to be invaded, and occupied, to prevent them from ever
developing and possibly using a nuclear weapon against the mainland
United States, then our parents and grandparents wasted untold billions
in producing nuclear weapons and submarines to defend against just such
a threat. And we want our money back.
