The Navy's New Mini-Nuclear Warheads Are A Really Bad Idea

Michael Peck

Security,

In other words, a new tactical nuclear weapon is supposed to convince Russia that the U.S. could respond in kind to Moscow’s use of tactical nukes. Delivering the warhead by sub-launched ICBM means Russian air defenses can’t stop it. Unfortunately, there are questionable assumptions behind this thinking.

Why Does America Need New Mini-Nuclear Warheads for Its Submarines?

By Michael Peck

America’s strategic ballistic missile submarines are getting tactical nuclear weapons.

In late 2019, the USS Tennessee, an Ohio-class sub, received new low-yield W76-2 warheads to replace high-yield warheads on some of its Trident missiles, according to the Federation of American Scientists.

“We estimate that one or two of the 20 missiles on the USS Tennessee and subsequent subs will be armed with the W76-2, either singly or carrying multiple warheads,” FAS said. “Each W76-2 is estimated to have an explosive yield of about five kilotons. The remaining 18 missiles on each submarine like the Tennessee carry either the 90-kiloton W76-1 or the 455-kiloton W88. Each missile can carry up to eight warheads under current loading configurations.”

The U.S. military doesn’t discuss the deployment of nuclear weapons as a matter of policy. But it’s no secret why the Trump administration wants them. To understand why requires an appreciation of the unwritten rules that have governed the U.S. vs. Soviet Union/Russia nuclear arms race since 1949. The U.S. government fears that Russia is embracing a new military doctrine that envisions selective use of tactical nuclear weapons, such as during a conflict in Eastern Europe and the Baltic States. Some estimates place the Russian tactical nuclear stockpile at 1,200 to 5,000 warheads. That’s far less than the 20,000 or so tactical nukes the Soviet Union, but far more than the U.S. stockpile, which has shrunk from about 9,000 warheads in 1980 to around 230 today. Unlike Russia, U.S. tactical nuclear weapons are mostly bombs dropped by aircraft, rather than missile warheads.