Felix the Cat
01-24-2006, 10:53 PM
US Navy looks for global strike (http://www.janes.com/defence/naval_forces/news/jni/jni060123_1_n.shtml)
The US Navy (USN) is looking to resurrect a plan to 'conventionalise' some of its Trident fleet ballistic missiles, replacing their nuclear payload with multiple high-explosive warheads.
The navy proposed similar Trident conversion studies in FY03 and FY04, but these were flatly refused by congress. However, a congressional source told JNI that "there is a real buzz about rapid global strike in the Pentagon right now and the programme appears to have floated back onto the table".
USN sources believe an Ohio-class submarine could be stationed in Southern Ocean regions and be able to hit most targets on the planet in around 30 minutes, firing missiles south over the pole.
The congressional source said that this timeliness was central to the global strike requirement, radically shortening the engagement cycle and enabling the US to get a massive amount of firepower onto a rapidly emerging or fleeting target window, as well as providing a conventional 'first-strike' pre-emptive capability.
The US Navy (USN) is looking to resurrect a plan to 'conventionalise' some of its Trident fleet ballistic missiles, replacing their nuclear payload with multiple high-explosive warheads.
The navy proposed similar Trident conversion studies in FY03 and FY04, but these were flatly refused by congress. However, a congressional source told JNI that "there is a real buzz about rapid global strike in the Pentagon right now and the programme appears to have floated back onto the table".
USN sources believe an Ohio-class submarine could be stationed in Southern Ocean regions and be able to hit most targets on the planet in around 30 minutes, firing missiles south over the pole.
The congressional source said that this timeliness was central to the global strike requirement, radically shortening the engagement cycle and enabling the US to get a massive amount of firepower onto a rapidly emerging or fleeting target window, as well as providing a conventional 'first-strike' pre-emptive capability.