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THE SUBMARINE LEGACY
The submarine is the ultimate stealth platform, and earned an
unequalled legacy in 20th century warfare. German U-boats in World
Wars I and II caused huge losses in U.S. and Allied shipping,
nearly isolating America from Europe. In World War II U.S. submarines
sank much of the Japanese Navy and their shipping vessels, successfully
isolating Japan from their oil supplies. During the Cold War,
the U.S. created an invulnerable nuclear retaliation capability
with our ballistic missile submarines, while our attack submarines
held Soviet submarines at risk. Our strategic advantage in submarine
warfare helped persuade Soviet leaders they could not win a military
confrontation and significantly contributed to the fall of the
Soviet Empire.
SUBMARINES’ POTENTIAL IN THE 21ST CENTURY
This legacy raises the question: why do we need submarines now?
The threats of the 20th century have been defeated, so what will
submarines do? The answer: submarines will be used for
any mission that requires stealth, endurance, mobility, and firepower.
These submarine attributes have proven timeless, and the potential
use for submarines is nearly as broad as the imagination. A submarine’s
invisibility allows it to outwait an unknowing enemy, and then
strike when the enemy’s guard is down:
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Strike covertly hundreds of miles inland with cruise or ballistic
missiles.
- Launch supersonic interceptors to destroy
ballistic missiles launched at the U.S.
- Strike with dozens of Special Forces
operators landing in mini-submarines.
- Intercept radio communications when
the enemy relaxes communications’ discipline.
- Launch UAVs to detect relocatable targets
far inland, and then destroy them with
missiles.
- Track enemy surface ships and submarines
and sink them at will.
- Survey or destroy minefields with UUVs,
and destroy underwater assets.
In the 21st century, U.S. submarines, the ultimate stealth platform,
have the potential to perform these missions and others not yet
conceived to defend America’s interests.
REALIZING THE POTENTIAL
Rogue states, terrorists, and future peer competitors all fear
the capability of U.S. submarines. We need to maintain our unfair
advantage in submarine warfare to not only punish our enemies,
but to deter potential enemies from becoming actual ones. To realize
the potential submarines offer, our country needs to continue
to build adequate numbers of submarines, improve them, and develop
the ballistic missiles, missile interceptors, UAVs, UUVs, and
other payloads through consistent investment in submarine research
and development. Only this will preserve and realize the full
potential of this enormous U.S. strategic advantage.
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