They are by far the most heavily armed conventional strike platforms in the undersea battlespace. The U.S. Navy’s four Ohio Class cruise missile submarines (SSGNs) can carry a total of 154 Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missiles (TLAM Block-IV) in their missile silos. When added to the torpedo room, this gives a total of 176 full-size weapons. This quantity of weapons is already unparalleled, even by the latest Russian Navy SSGNs.
And the submarines may soon receive new hypersonic missiles which could transform their capabilities. The new missile, being developed under the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) program, will also reaffirm the U.S. Navy’s lead at a time when other navies are also rearming with hypersonic weapons.
The new missile will be able to hit targets with cruise-missiles like precision at extended ranges. And because of its incredible speed, greater than five times the speed of sound (Mach 5), it can do so within minutes of the target being identified. Its speed and maneuverability will also make it much harder to counter.
The U.S. Navy expect to deploy the new hypersonic weapon on Ohio-class SSGNs. The head of the Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs, Vice Admiral Johnny Wolfe, recently said that submarines will get the hypersonic strike weapon by 2025.
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