The end of the triad Why SSBN advances make a dyad possible

Journal Article · Fri Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1989 · Arms Control Today; (USA)

OSTI ID:7076397

An important confluence of events is taking place that is very likely to fundamentally change the way policy makers in the United States think about strategic nuclear forces. It is coincidence of technical capability - specifically, the expanding capabilities of the U.S. ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) force - with fiscal constraints, arms reductions and potential adjustments in U.S. views of the threat. These circumstances will almost certainly produce a dramatic expansion of the role played by the SSBN force. It could also mean the end of the strategic nuclear triad. Over the next decade, SSBN force capabilities will expand greatly, largely because of the fruition of long-standing plans to build a strategic weapons system composed of large, very quiet submarines armed with long-range, highly lethal weapons - Trident submarines armed with the Trident II or D-5 missile. This combination will enter service with the USS Tennessee and will constitute the entire SSBN force within about a decade. The capabilities of this submarine and missile combination will challenge common assumptions that have condition thinking about ballistic missile submarines in the past and, in particular, overturn prevailing notions regarding the value of a strategic nuclear triad.

• OSTI ID: 7076397
• Journal Information: Arms Control Today; (USA), Journal Name: Arms Control Today; (USA) Vol. 19:7; ISSN ACOTE; ISSN 0196-125X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

350100* -- Arms Control-- Policy
Negotiations
& Legislation-- (1987-)
98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
ARMS CONTROL
MILITARY STRATEGY
MISSILES
NEGOTIATION
SHIPS
SUBMARINES