Future of the Trident Force. Enabling Access in Access-Constrained Environments

摘要

The decision to convert four Trident submarines to SSGNs establishes a future for the Trident force beyond the nuclear deterrence mission. SSGNs will provide unique capabilities in at least four mission areas. First, they will provide an absolutely covert means in peacetime of holding high value targets at risk of immediate attack for as long as national decision makers deem necessary. Second, early in a conflict, they will be one of the few power projection assets that can operate in the face of opposing anti-access forces, while at the same time being one of the primary means of eliminating or reducing those access denial forces. Third, having helped create operational sanctuaries in the littoral environment for joint forces on the surface and in the air, SSGNs will retain a key role as a continuing source of the most time critical fires against high value targets. Fourth, across the full spectrum of operations from peacetime to high intensity conflict, SSGNs will provide the only means of covertly delivering, supporting with time critical fires, and recovering special operations forces. In support of these diverse roles, four additional payloads should be added to the baseline SSGN conversion involving Tomahawk cruise missiles and a special forces delivery and recovery capability. First, SSGN should be given a Tactical Ballistic Missile (TBM) capability. Existing TBMs of roughly the same size as Tomahawk can deliver a variety of unitary and sub-munition payloads as deep as 500 kilometers faster than any other existing weapon, and for equal or less cost compared to such air- delivered, standoff weapons as JASSM, SLAM-ER, AGM-142/130, and JSOW-B/C. Such a time critical, deep strike capability against high value, mobile targets would complement Tactical Tomahawk's deep strike capability against high value, fixed targets.