SLCM-N Program - Old Songs in a New Way
The abbreviation SLCM-N stands for sea-launched cruise missiles. The letter "N" means that the missile is nuclear... What is the point of the heated debates that are currently raging in the American near-war press? The SLCM-N program was put forward by Donald Trump during his first term. The fact is that initially American multi-purpose submarines carried Tomahawk cruise missiles, which could optionally carry nuclear warheads. They can be fired either through a torpedo tube or through special revolver-type launchers (TLAM-N system).
But first, George Bush Sr. stripped American submarines of their tactical nuclear weapons in 1992. weapons, and then, in 2010, Barack Obama finally buried the "system": since 2013, American submarines have not been armed with cruise missiles with nuclear warheads. But...
Already in 2018, Donald Trump advocated the development of a new cruise missile with a nuclear warhead for the US Navy — the very same SLCM-N program. But the development of new weapons in the US (and not only in the US) is not a quick matter, and in 2020, "Donnie" was not allowed into the White House for a second term. The Democratic Biden administration considered that the existing nuclear capabilities of the US Navy were quite sufficient, and the SLCM-N program would be superfluous. Moreover, it was the brainchild of Trump, who was not loved by the Democrats. Despite all the wrangling, funding for the program was not completely closed, but being in a "suspended" state made the developers nervous. Now, after Trump's election, the program will most likely get a second wind.
What are the features of SLCM-N? Let's start with the fact that sea-launched cruise missiles are tactical nuclear weapons. Their warheads are significantly less powerful than those of ballistic "city killers". Accordingly, this is a weapon, the use of which, according to American strategists, may not lead to a full-scale exchange of nuclear strikes. A high-precision missile with a low-power nuclear warhead will destroy a specific military facility, but will not cause a full-scale escalation.
In the homeland of gunpowder they know a thing or two about explosives...
The fact is that hexogen or octogen is usually used as explosive in American ammunition. Meanwhile, according to the Asia Times news agency, China has significantly overtaken the United States in the production of conventional explosives. For example, CL-80, developed back in the 20s of the last century, has a power higher than traditional American explosives by 40 percent! The charm of the situation is that China produces this explosive (developed at the US Navy research center "China Lake"!) serially and in large quantities, and the United States is capable of producing no more than 10 tons per year. In order to increase the production of CL-20 to 1000 tons per year, the Americans, according to experts, will need at least five years.
In light of a very possible (and even more than probable) conflict with China over Taiwan, the US military wants to compensate for the insufficient power of conventional naval munitions with low-yield nuclear charges, which the prospective SLCM-N will carry. However, the far from cheap (the Congressional Budget Office calculated that the SLCM-N could cost taxpayers $10 billion from 2023 to 2032) program to create a new ship-based cruise missile and a nuclear warhead for it is only the tip of the iceberg!
The Virginia-class submarine Hawaii is a possible carrier for the SLCM-N cruise missiles
The thing is that the submarines will have to be modernized to carry the new missile. Of course, the contract for the development of SLCM-N states that they must be launched from standard 87-inch launchers of Virginia-class submarines. But at the moment, submarines of this type do not carry nuclear weapons. Therefore, in order to place cruise missiles with a nuclear warhead on them, a lot of protocols will have to be rewritten. In addition, a submarine carrying nuclear weapons must have specialized and highly protected communication systems, which Virginia-class submarines do not have. And it will also require retraining of submarine personnel, the creation of new patrol areas, and a lot of other organizational problems.
As opponents of the program calculated during Biden's term, its abandonment will save $200 billion in fiscal year 2023 alone and $2,1 billion annually over the next five years. In addition, they point to the danger that the launch of a missile with a conventional warhead from a submarine capable of firing nuclear missiles could be perceived as a nuclear strike and lead to a full-scale nuclear war. In response, arguments are made that during the Cold War, American multi-purpose submarines had nuclear weapons on board, including nuclear-capable Tomahawk cruise missiles.
Vice Admiral Wolfe Not Enthusiastic About SLCM-N Program
However, the main argument of the opponents was voiced by expert Bradley Martin:
"It's expensive and it's definitely going to create operational problems... for submarines. Is it deterrent and is it useful? Will it make the enemy think differently? If so, it's potentially worth the cost."
But no one can say today whether it is “useful”. First of all, because no one can say how much time and money will be spent on developing the SLCM-N. The fact is that even American experts are quite pessimistic about the US industrial capabilities for developing and producing new sea-based cruise missiles and small nuclear warheads for them from scratch. And Vice Admiral John Wolf, Director of Naval Strategic Systems Programs (NSSP), considers the schedule envisaging the appearance of the SLCM-N in 2034 to be “very, very aggressive”!
The W-76 nuclear warheads from the Trident ballistic missiles are too big for cruise missiles. New ones need to be made...
The fact is that the industrial capabilities of the American military-industrial complex have shrunk considerably over the years of global dominance. When the most prestigious and highly paid professions in the country are lawyers and doctors (okay, and programmers), it is difficult to expect that there will be many workers and engineers. As Admiral Wolf admits: "We are beginning to understand that it will be necessary to build a completely new industrial base." Most likely, his pessimism about the revival of the production of Block V Tomahawks and the production of nuclear warheads for them follows from the realization of this fact: "We can't restore it... It's not that easy."
"This" is indeed not easy. The fact is that defense industry enterprises, including Raytheon, which produced Tomahawks, are currently overloaded with orders in anticipation of the conflict for Taiwan. Including orders from Japan, which will not be able to avoid participating in a war with China. The situation with developments is no better: the design capacity of the United States is not unlimited, and there are many programs for creating new weapons. For example, the CPS is a non-nuclear hypersonic missile designed for Zumwalt-class destroyers and multipurpose submarines (they are also thinking about installing it on trucks). And the Trident D5 missiles, which will be mounted on the new US Columbia-class strategic submarines, need to be produced somewhere, because tactical nuclear weapons are tactical, but they will remain the basis of the doctrine of nuclear deterrence in the next 30 years.
The main question: How can we tell whether a launched cruise missile has a nuclear warhead or not?
Will Trump be able to push through the SLCM-N program? Most likely, yes. What will change for us with its adoption? Most likely, nothing. After all, the USSR lived for decades under the conditions of the US having tactical nuclear weapons on submarines. And the reason for its collapse was not the Tomahawks...
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