Two US Navy news articles
US Navy arms subs with low yield nuclear warheads
This is a good idea. Currently our only low yield nukes are bomber delivered. Russian air defenses make that problematic.
The U.S. military has put low-yield nuclear warheads into operation on submarines, citing the need to deter a limited nuclear attack by Russia with similarly small warheads in a scenario that worries Pentagon planners.
In a statement released Tuesday, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy John C. Rood confirmed that the W76-2 low-yield warhead had been fielded on submarine-launched ballistic missiles. The introduction of the warhead on Ohio-class nuclear submarines marks the first time the U.S. military has armed underwater vessels with warheads that can explode at such small yields since the George H.W. Bush administration.
The move comes over the objections of top Democrats and antinuclear advocates who have called it dangerous.
Rood said the W76-2 strengthens deterrence against adversaries and gives the United States a low-yield option that is more survivable in the event of a nuclear war. The U.S. military already possesses a low-yield option in the B61 gravity bomb, but that warhead and its variants can be launched only from aircraft, which the Pentagon believes could be stymied by sophisticated Russian air defenses.
The second article
Lasers on US subs?
Interesting. By increasing the laser beam wavelength a submerged sub could fire an effective laser at line of sight targets.
Laser weapons can strike at the speed of light, and they’re quickly deploying to every possible fighting domain, whether on land, in the air, and at sea. But what about under the sea?
Open-source budget documents, the earliest of which date back to 2011, show the Navy’s plans to arm Virginia-class nuclear subs with high-energy laser weapons. It’s a strange idea seeing as laser weapons definitely do not work underwater. Submarines are also quiet recluses by design, rarely popping their heads above water.
But despite these glaring contradictions, experts talking to Popular Mechanics say a laser sub makes more sense than you might think.