Compiled by Bob Aldridge, Pacific Life Research Center
This paper is intended to support resistance to the conversion of America's four oldest Trident submarines to be launch platforms for Tomahawk cruise missiles, and other missiles capable of being launched from the same system. This conversion is not necessary for national security reasons. What it does do is destabilize international relations and disarmament negotiations while absorbing critically-needed resources and aggravating a rapidly-spreading culture of violence.
In its Nuclear Posture Review released in September 1994, the Pentagon announced that it may cut the Trident fleet from 18 to14 submarines. The four oldest are the ones that will be retired from strategic service. They are the USS Ohio (SSBN-726), the USS Michigan (SSBN-727), the USS Florida (SSBN-728), and the USS Georgia (SSBN-729). Trident submarines are designated by the letters SSBN, followed by the serial number -- the "SS" indicates a submarine, the "B" tells that it carries ballistic missiles, and the "N" means it is nuclear powered.
Now there are factions in government and the Navy which want to convert the four extra submarines to carry cruise missiles. In June 2001 President George W. Bush encouraged the conversion of Trident submarines to carry Tomahawks, and the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Vernon E. Clark, then showed increased support for the plan. It appears that the current intention is to convert two, but that will only be the start. In the absence of public opposition the other two could be added later. There is $116 million in the fiscal year 2002 budget to start the ball rolling. Actual work would start after the subs are removed from strategic service in 2003 and 2004.
Sometime during the mid-1990s the Pentagon conceived the idea of an arsenal ship. With Tomahawk cruise missiles becoming the military's weapon of choice for strikes against other countries, a ship dedicated to carrying hundreds of these weapons seemed desirable.
But an arsenal ship would travel on the surface where it is easily detected and tracked. It would also require a fleet of warships to protect it and tankers for refueling. The idea was scrapped in 1997. A Navy report entitled Analysis of Converting Trident-Class Ballistic Missile Submarines (SSBNs) to Nuclear-Powered Guided Missile Submarines (SSGNs) -- the Final Report, issued 14 June 1999 -- examines the conversion of the four to-be-retired Trident subs to carry cruise missiles. The work would take place between 2003 and 2006, with two each based at Bangor and Kings Bay.
These converted submarines would be redesignated from SSBNs to SSGNs -- the "G" signifying that it carries guided missiles. The conversion cost was estimated at $500 million to convert each SSBN to a SSGN. Underwater warfare officials tout converted Tridents as the submarine force's answer to the Navy's proposed arsenal ship -- its stealth, invulnerability, and nuclear power obviates all the disadvantages of an arsenal ship. They boast that Trident can disappear for months at a time and then bring significant firepower to enemy shores without detection. Quoting the Defense Science Board: "Although no US surface ships might be in a given area, an adversary could not discount the fact that there could be a Trident SSGN within striking range." Trident SSGNs could ripple fire 154 Tomahawks in six minutes. At $750,000 per missile that is spitting out over a quarter-million dollars a second for a six-minute total of $115.5 million.
The most popular scheme seems to be putting seven Tomahawks each in 22 of the missile tubes -- 154 total. There would also be dedicated accommodations for 66 special operations troops such as Navy Seals. Twenty feet of unused space below the Tomahawks in each of the 88-inch diameter tubes could be used for special operations gear and other purposes. The two remaining tubes would be used as air locks for the troops to leave the sub and enter two miniature submarines (Advanced SEAL Delivery System and/or Dry Deck Shelter, one of each or two of either) being carried piggy back outside the hull above those tubes. These numbers could be see-sawed back and forth to a certain degree -- more special troops if fewer missiles are carried.
Electric Boat won the engineering and design contract, and it is very interested in the construction work. $14 million was appropriated for Fiscal Year 2000 to start design work on the SSGN conversion. $38 million was approved for Fiscal Year 2001 to continue studies on the SSGN conversion. Then the figure jumped to $116 million requested for fiscal year 2002 ($30 million for research & development and $86 million for advanced procurement).
In June 1999 the Naval Sea Systems Command was in the process of setting up a project office responsible for the concept of the SSGN, as opposed to a program office to actually implement the SSGN concept. But as David Caskey, spokesperson for the Command, says, "one would typically evolve into the other".
Billions of dollars can be saved to use on more beneficial projects if the SSGN conversions were canceled and the four submarines decommissioned. The total would be more like the following (In millions of fiscal year 2000 dollars).
The total savings totals over $11 billion. Again, some proponents for the conversion may say that the real cost is less because money would not have to be spent to deactivate the submarines. That is fallacious reasoning because deactivation must eventually be done anyway.
Not much can be written about the environmental effects of the SSGN conversion other than there are no public documents to indicate those effects have been considered. Modifying the bases to handle Tomahawk missiles would certainly have some ecological impact, yet there has been no process started to arrive at an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act. The American people should be demanding that an EIS be prepared.
Renovating a strategic weapon for tactical use will have geopolitical ramifications around the globe. International relations will be aggravated by having more Tomahawk missiles available, at taxpayers expense. Long-range cruise missiles have given the US and its allies itchy trigger fingers. Without looking for more fruitful and longer lasting solutions the US and Britain, in particular, have charged into Iraq and Serbia to force ruthless dictators to their knees. They have bombed sovereign nations with Tomahawks in response to terrorism. Myopic military vision fails to recognize, or completely ignores, the fact that these acts of aggression are stimulating nationalism that supports those ruthless dictators. And as industrial nations continue to trample smaller countries the incidents of terrorism continue to increase. Even in many neutral countries the sentiment is getting anti-American and anti-Western. Stopping the deployment of Tomahawks on Trident submarines will help to stabilize international relations by at least keeping them from getting worse.
Tomahawk cruise missiles are not the only armament that could be carried on a Trident submarine converted to a stealth battleship. The Navy's Standard Missiles, various versions of which are the interceptor for Navy Theater-Wide and Area-Wide Missile Defense programs and a candidate for inclusion in the National Missile Defense scenario, can be launched from the same tubes as Tomahawks. This would give Trident a role in the Ballistic Missile Defense picture -- a role which would lead to even greater international outrage and diplomatic instability. This concept has already being tested in the public waters.
The major obstacle to stopping the SSGN conversions is vested monetary interests in the areas that will get the work. The people living in those areas, and their representatives in the Legislature, will pressure unrelentingly to convert Trident subs. One example has already surfaced in Camden County, Georgia, where Submarine Base Kings Bay is located. The Camden County Board of Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution proclaiming that it "endorses the efforts of the various local groups in support of US Submarine Base Kings Bay and encourages the United States Congress and the United States Navy to base at least two of the refitted SSGNs at Kings Bay." The motivation behind this support for keeping Tridents submarines in operation are local jobs, which in turn provide increased markets for local businesses. This is a formidable obstacle for Trident resisters to overcome.
Another serious obstacle to overcome in resisting the continuation of Trident is the lobbying efforts and other activity of the weapons makers, to protect their profits. They have the ability to pressure legislators and influence the public through the media. Resisters will have to be well informed on the issues and work diligently to counter these corporate resources.
Long-range cruise missiles such as Tomahawks are popular with military planners. They provide for air strikes without pilot risk or the loss of expensive airplanes. They allow strikes over almost all the earth's land mass without having to obtain host country approval for air bases and overflight. They allow strikes in a particular region before an aircraft carrier task force can be brought in. All of these features have made cruise missiles the Pentagon's "weapon of choice" in regional wars.
Tridents converted to launch cruise missiles will enhance the "weapon of choice" for regional wars. But these weapons are having a much more subtle and extremely devastating effect on America's culture. People tacitly accept that it is OK to bully weaker nations if that sustains our lifestyle. It is considered acceptable to wage a war as long as there are no, or very few, American casualties. In effect, the American people now tolerate a permanent state of low-grade war. The culture of violence is brewing in our country with a particularly devastating effect on our younger generation. Helping restore feeling to America's conscience, now seemingly numbed by the expediency of a military solution, will perhaps be the greatest advantage of all from simply retiring those four Trident submarines.
It is probably through contact with the public, and by motivating people to make their desires known, that Trident resisters will reap the most success. People have been and will continue to be bombarded with propaganda advocating bigger and better weapons. They have been intimidated on everything from jobs and the economy to national security, from protecting our vital interests to saving the huge investment in Trident by spending more money. It will take resourcefulness, ingenuity, perseverence, knowledge, integrity and many other positive traits to sway the American public away from false delusions and back to hope for the future. There will be rewards reaped, however. The greatest of these is the reward of reducing and someday eliminating the culture of violence that has infested our society, and of achieving a wholesome atmosphere in which our children and grandchildren can grow.
July 2001
PLRC Pacific Life Research Center
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E-mail janbob1@yahoo.com
REFERENCES
CAIG Report -- Life-Cycle Cost Estimate for Trident Ballistic Missile Submarine Tactical Conversion, report of the Cost Analysis Improvement Group (CAIG) of the Office of the Secretary of Defense in response to a requirement of the Fiscal year 1999 Defense Authorization Act, dated January 1999. (Published as Annex-A of the Final report.)
Final Report -- Analysis of Converting Trident-Class Ballistic Missile Submarines (SSBNs) to Nuclear-Powered Guided-Missile Submarines (SSGNs), report by US Navy mandated by the Fiscal Year 1999 Defense Authorization Act, transmitted to Congress on 14 June 1999.
Fritz, John; "Conventional Idea For Trident," The Times-Union (Jacksonville, FL), 8 November 1996, pp. A-1 & A-5.
Fritz, John; "Nuclear Subs Restudied," The Times-Union (Jacksonville, FL), 23 February 1999.
Fritz, John; "Kings Bay Could Lose 2 Subs," The Times-Union (Jacksonville, FL), 2 March 1999.
GAO/NSIAD-89-40, Navy Strategic Forces: Trident-2 Proceeding Toward Deployment, US General Accounting Office report, November 1988.
Greenhouse, Steven, "US Arsenal To Take More Cuts," New York Times. Published in Mercury News (San Jose, CA), 23 September 1994, p. 18A.
Hamilton, Robert A.; "EB To Get Contract For Missile Trainers," The Day (New London, CT), 20 February 1998, pp. B7 & B9.
Hamilton, Robert A.; "Missile Submarines Certified For 42 Years," The Day (New London, CT), 21 March 1998, pp. C1 & C3
Hamilton, Robert A.; "Electric Boat Wins Trident Engineering Work," The Day (New London, CT), 19 February 1999, pp. B7 & B9
Hamilton, Robert A.; "Gejdenson Seeks Funds For Trident Conversion," The Day (New London, CT), 6 March 1999.
Hamilton (5), Robert A.; "Trident Conversion Gains Backing in D.C.," The Day (New London, CT), 25 March 1999.
Hamilton, Robert A.; "Senate Panel Oks Bill To Convert Trident Subs," The Day (New London, CT), 14 May 1999.
Hamilton, Robert A.; "Navy Gets serious About Trident Conversions," The Day (New London, CT), 3 June 1999, pp. E1 & E3.
Hart, Amelia; "Navy Plans To Remove Two Kings Bay Tridents," Tribune & Georgian (Camden County, GA), 26 February 1999.
Hart, Amelia; "Bill Has Funds To Study Trident Conversion," Tribune & Georgian (Camden County, GA), 26 May 1999, pp. 1A & 12A.
Hitchens, Theresa and Holzer, Robert; "US Navy Ponders New Role For Surplus Subs.," Defense News (6883 Commercial Drive, Springfield VA), 12 December 1994, p. 3.
Neleski, Patricia; "Commissioners Support Resolution," Camden County, Georgia Tribune & Georgian, 14 April 1999.
New London Day, The (New London, CT), various issues.
Newman, Richard J.; "Shooting From The Ship," U.S. News, 3 July 2000.
Offley, Ed; "4 Trident Subs May Get New Mission: Cruise Missiles Would Replace Nuclear Arms," Post Intelligencer (Seattle, WA), 2 August 1999.
PLRC-960301 -- Land Attack Tomahawks: A Background Paper on Conventionally-Armed, Long-Range, Sea-Launched Cruise Missiles (Pacific Life Research Center).
Pritchett, Lloyd; "3 Subs To Be Moved To Bangor, 4 To Be Stripped Of Missiles," The Sun (Bremerton, WA), 17 April 1997, pp. A1 & A8.
Program Acquisition Cost By Weapons System, Department of Defense Budget for Fiscal Years 2000/2001, February 1999.
Sun, The (Bremerton, Washington), various issues.
Weiner, Tim; "Senate Passes Defense Appropriations Package," New York Times; posted on San Jose, CA Mercury News web site on 9 June 1999.
GLOSSARY
CAIG - Cost Analysis Improvement Group of the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
DOD - Department of Defense.
EB - Electric Boat, a division of General Dynamics. EIS - Environmental Impact Statement.
FY - Fiscal Year -- October 1st through September 30th for US government.
SSBN - Nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine.
SSGN - Nuclear-powered guided missile submarine.