Speaking at a Senate Armed Forces Committee hearing Monday,General Robert Kehler,US Air Force,Commander,US Strategic Command,said we have to get on with it-referring to the replacement for the US Navy's Ohio class nuclear submarine.I continue to support the triad of land,air and sea-based nuclear weapons.They provide the survivability,flexibility and responsiveness which confound the enemy.
We intend to keep the Ohio submarines longer than any other submarines.I believe we understand when we will reach that point of replacement.
The land-based missile silos and airfields are not dependent on the local power grid.They are not vulnerable in that way.They are threatened by electromagnetic pulse.Defense against that is needed.
We made a number of judgements about the future.The value of a submarine-based deterrent will remain as high as it is today.The Navy's assessment is what's driving this.It's the cycles on a submarine,the pressure doing things to the metallurgy and fittings that encase them,affecting the continued safety.
Sliding the submarines over an additional two years puts them in the zone of concern.Twelve of the new class of submarine looks like the right number.It's the right capability/cost balance.We need new long range strike aircraft as well,and the viability of land-based ICBMs beyond 2030 is an issue.
The UK wants to piggyback on the new submarine program for their own nuclear deterrent as well.It's a delicate dance.The 2013 budget continued the modernisation effort.I don't know how the 2014 budget will affect it.It continues to be a wise investment,I believe.
The 14 Ohio class submarines are the launch platform for the Trident II D5 intercontinental ballistic missiles that are the sea-based leg of the nuclear triad.
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