A new generation of low-yield nuclear submarines have been deployed by the US Navy. These submarines mark the first new nuclear weapon in the American arsenal in decades, and the Pentagon states they believe these flexible, long-range missiles will make certain opponents think twice before launching smaller-scale, tactical nuclear warheads.
Others, however, fear that any new nuclear weaponry in the US could make the geopolitical reality more unstable.
According to the Pentagon, the main purpose for these lower-yield, “tactical” nuclear submarines is that they would allow the US to have a measured, escalating response in the event of a nuclear attack from a power like Russia that could use smaller, more flexible nuclear weapons. Ideally, no nuclear weapons will ever be fired again: the primary goal of modern nuclear weaponry is to dissuade everyone else from using them.
The US’s 2018 Nuclear Posture Review summarized as much. “Expanding flexible US nuclear options now, to include low-yield options, is important for the preservation of credible deterrence against regional aggression. It will raise the nuclear threshold and help ensure that potential adversaries perceive no possible advantage in limited nuclear escalation, making nuclear employment less likely,” the review reads.
“The US Navy has fielded the W76-2 low-yield submarine-launched ballistic missile warhead,” stated Undersecretary of Defense for Policy John Rood Tuesday. These new warheads are actually a modification of older W-76 warheads that have been in the US stockpile for years. As such, this new deployment of submarines doesn’t represent an escalation in the US’ number of nukes.
Rood further described the weapon’s general purpose during Tuesday’s press conference. The Undersecretary noted that the low-yield weapon could “address the conclusion that potential adversaries, like Russia, believe that employment of low-yield nuclear weapons will give them an advantage over the United States and its allies and partners.”
Rood went on, adding that this weapon “demonstrates to potential adversaries that there is no advantage to limited nuclear employment because the United States can credibly and decisively respond to any threat scenario.” Ideally, this means that the weapons won’t need to be used at all, acting as a deterrent.
