CENTCOM Commander Boards Nuclear Missile Submarine

U.S. Central Command commander General Michael "Erik" Kurilla,US Army,boarded the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS West Virginia (SSBN 736) on 19 October 2022 at a secret location in international waters of the Arabian Sea.Also coming aboard was Vice Admiral Brad Cooper,commander of U.S. 5th Fleet and NAVECENT.The Arabian Sea is between Oman,Yemen and Somalia to the west,and India to the east.General Kurilla got a hands-on briefing on the submarine's capability.The USS West Virginia traverses the globe as a member of U.S. Strategic Command and the seaborne leg of the nuclear deterrent triad. Said General Kurilla: These submarines are the crown jewel of the nuclear triad,and the West Virginia demonstrates the flexibility,survivability,readiness and capability of USCENTCOM and USSTRATCOM forces at sea.* The West Virginia is homeported at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay,Georgia.The Lockheed Martin Space UGM-133 Trident II ballistic missile deployed on the West Virginia is also deployed by the UK's Royal Navy on its Vanguard-class submarines.The Trident II Strategic Weapons System has greater accuracy,payload and range,such that it could be used as a first-strike weapon.* Each of the 14 Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines carries 24 Trident IIs.This will be reduced to 20 in 2023 in accordance with the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) agreed by the US and the Russian Federation.The Trident II can carry a variety of nuclear warheads,ranging from 475 kilotonnes of TNT equivalent all the way down to the tactical nuclear weapon range of 5-7 kilotonnes.* While Lockheed Martin Space is the missile's prime contractor,subcontractors include Boeing (navigation maintenance) and Northrop Grumman (engineering and integration).The missiles will remain in service until 2042 under a life extension plan (D5LE).Indeed,two of the D5LE missiles were sucessfully test-fired from the USS Wyoming (SSBN 742) in 2021.The new US Navy Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine will replace the Ohio-class,and the UK's new Dreadnought-class will supplant the Vanguard-class;but the new submarines will continue to field the UGM-133 Trident IIs.* Boeing (BA),Lockheed Martin (LMT),Northrop Grumman (NOC)