The US wants to reassure one of its most important allies that it has their back, analysts say. “If Kim Jong Un was looking to do a surprise strike, we’ve given him the submarine’s location and time it will be there,” Schuster said. One arriving in South Korea on a port visit – which must be arranged 24 to 48 hours in advance – would be far more visible, giving North Korea an advantage, Schuster said. Daniel Post wrote in the US Naval Institute’s Proceedings journal in January.Ī US ballistic missile sub lurking hundreds of feet below the ocean’s surface thousands of miles from North Korea would still be within striking range of Pyongyang, but would be near impossible for North Korea to spot. “Nuclear deterrence requires that, though the adversary knows of the existence and scale of the nuclear state’s weapons, it cannot know the exact extent or location of capabilities or when they might be employed,” US Navy Cmdr. One of the keys to nuclear deterrence is uncertainty. “Tactically, (the US and South Korea) are diminishing the sub’s most powerful asset its stealthiness,” said Carl Schuster, a former US Navy captain and former director of operations at the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center in Hawaii. Navy/Handout/ReutersĪnalysts say the presence of a US Navy ballistic missile submarine in a South Korean port would be purely symbolic – and in fact would reduce the military value of the sub. The subs have two crews each – dubbed the “blue” and “gold” crews – and these are rotated so the 155 submariners in each crew get proper rest and training between patrols.Īn unarmed Trident II D5 missile is test-launched from the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Nebraska off the coast of California in 2018. The Navy says an Ohio-class sub is designed to spend on average 77 days at sea, followed by 35 days in port for maintenance. The 560-foot submarines, commonly called “boomers,” have a displacement of more than 18,000 tons when submerged and are each powered by a single nuclear reactor. The US Navy has 14 Ohio-class, nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs), with eight based in Washington state and six based in Georgia. Here’s what you need to know about the submarine and why it’s heading to South Korea. Some point out the subs are quite capable of hitting North Korea from thousands of miles away others argue that sending the sub on a – very public – foreign port visit only compromises the effectiveness of a weapon designed for stealth. “Our mutual defense treaty is iron clad and that includes our commitment to extend a deterrence – and that includes the nuclear threat, the nuclear deterrent,” US President Joe Biden said in a news conference at the White House with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.īut while the move has huge symbolic value, some experts question whether it makes sense as a military move. Plans to deploy a US nuclear-armed submarine to South Korea for the first time since 1981 were the headline act in the unveiling of the “Washington Declaration,” a set of measures aimed at making Pyongyang think twice about launching a nuclear attack on its southern neighbor. When the presidents of the United States and South Korea this week announced a landmark deal to deter North Korean aggression, one element of the pact stood out.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |