The stealth battleship

During the Cold War, when presidents were informed of a budding crisis, it is said that they often first asked "Where are the carriers?" In the post-Cold War era, the first question they may very well now be asking is "Where are the Tomahawks?" Tomahawk sea-launched cruise missiles (technically called Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles) have become the weapons of choice for maritime strike operations, especially initial strike operations, during the past 10 years. These precision-guided missiles have greater range than carrierbased aircraft and can be employed without risking pilots and their expensive planes. The increased importance of Tomahawks is occurring as the Navy considers what to do with four Trident ballistic missile submarines that are slated for decommissioning even though they have at least 20 years of service life left in them. The Navy should seize this opportunity and convert the Tridents into conventional missile carriers capable of firing 150 or more Tomahawks. These converted Tridents could prowl the world's oceans as the Navy's first "stealth" battleships, capable of inflicting more prompt damage at extended ranges and at lower risk to the combatant submarine and its crew than any warship in the fleet, all without forfeiting the advantage of surprise. Indeed, they would have far greater long-range striking power than the battleships that conducted Tomahawk strike operations during the Persian Gulf War. A battle group composed of carrier-based aircraft, conventional precisionstrike missiles aboard surface combatants and submarines, and Trident stealth battleships, all linked by advanced information technologies, would provide the United States with an extraordinarily potent punch.

An emerging challenge Why should the Navy consider converting Tridents, at a cost of about $500 million per ship, to a new use? After all, the Navy already has Tomahawks aboard other surface combatants and...