The U.S. Navy has conducted test firing of an unarmed life-extended Trident II (D5) missile
from an Ohio-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), the USS Maine (SSBN-741).
The test was carried off the coast of Southern California on February 12.
As per U.S. Navy press statement, the launch was part of Demonstration and Shakedown Operation,
designated DASO-30, and aims to “evaluate and demonstrate the readiness of the SSBN’s
strategic weapon system and crew before operational deployment following the submarine’s engineered
refueling overhaul.”
Viewers may note that the USS Maine completed a three-year overhaul that included refueling
of the boomer’s nuclear reactor at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in June 2019.
The February 12 launch marked the 177th in the line of successful flights of the Trident
II.
In this video, Defense Updates reports on the U.S Navy's test-firing of Trident II (D5)
SLBM from USS Maine.
Let's get started.
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Viewers may note that Trident II was originally designed to operate till 2024.
But they went thought a life extension program, that will enable them to be operated till
the 2040s.
Currently, they are deployed in U.S Ohio-class and United Kingdom Vanguard-class SSBNs, and
will also be deployed in the upcoming U.S. Columbia-class and U.K. Dreadnought-class
SSBNs till a new missile is developed.
Strategic missiles like Trident II are tested regularly to examine their reliability, accuracy,
and readiness.
James F. Geurts, assistant secretary of the U.S Navy for research, development, and acquisition,
who embarked USS Maine for the launch, on February 12 stated,
“The professional performance by the crew of the USS Maine today demonstrated they are
ready to stand the watch for our nation’s strategic deterrence mission.”
The U.S Navy said in a statement, “Today’s launch was conducted from sea,
the missile flew over the sea, and landed in the sea.
At no time did the missile fly over land.
The missile test was not conducted in response to any ongoing world events or as a demonstration
of power.
Test launches – including DASOs – are scheduled years in advance.”
The Navy last conducted four scheduled missile test firings of unarmed Trident II (D5) missiles
from the Ohio-class SSBN USS Nebraska (SSBN-739) in September 2019.
The four test launches were part of a Commander Evaluation Test (CET) with the primary goal
of validating performance expectations of the SLBMs.
The Ohio class is a class of nuclear-powered submarines that is considered to be one of
the most lethal platforms in the world.
The US navy has 18 Ohio-class submarines: 14 ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) and
4 that were later converted to guided missile submarines (SSGN).
The Ohio-class boats entered service in the 1980s as a replacement for 5 different classes
of ballistic-missile submarines
Ohio class was created to be the ultimate nuclear deterrence.
The logic of nuclear deterrence is like this, while a first strike might wipe out a country’s
land-based missiles and nuclear bombers, it’s very difficult to track a ballistic-missile
submarine patrolling quietly in the depths of the ocean and it is almost impossible to
take them all out in a first strike.
So, ballistic-missile submarines deter any enemy from launching a preemptive first strike.
The Ohio-class submarines are the largest submarines ever built for the U.S Navy having
a displacement of 16764 tons.
These have a length of 560 ft (170 m) and have a speed of around 20 to 25 knots.
Being nuclear powered it has unlimited range and endurance, limited only by food supplies.
Each Ohio-class submarine has two crews of 154 officers and enlisted personnel, designated
Gold and Blue, who take turns departing on patrols that last an average of 70 to 90 days
underwater—with the longest on the record being 140 days by the USS Pennsylvania.
An average of a month is spent between patrols, with resupply facilitated by 3 large-diameter
supply hatches.
The submarines of this class have multiple sensors.
The surface search, navigation, and fire control radar is BPS 15A I/J-band radar.
The sonar suite includes: IBM BQQ 6 passive search sonar, Raytheon BQS 13, BQS 15 active
and passive high-frequency sonar, BQR 15 passive towed array from Western Electric and the
active BQR 19 navigation sonar from Raytheon.
Kollmorgen Type 152 and Type 82 periscopes are fitted.
Ohio-class submarines also come armed with four 21-inch tubes that can launch Mark 48
torpedoes.
Mark 48 torpedo has a range of 50 km or 31 miles.
it has 650 lb (290 kg) high explosive warhead.
However, these are intended primarily for self-defense—a ballistic missile submarine’s
job isn’t to hunt enemy ships and submarines, but to lie as low and quiet as possible to
deny rivals any means of tracking their movements.
USS Maine (SSBN-741) is the 16th Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine.
She was commissioned on 29 July 1995.
The first 8 Ohio-class boats were originally built to launch the Trident I C4 ballistic
missile—an advanced version of the earlier Poseidon SLBM.
However, by now all of these are armed with the superior Trident II D5 ballistic missile.
Trident II was designed to be more advanced than its predecessor Trident I.
Trident II is put into service in 1990, it has a greater range and payload capacity compared
to Trident I.
The missile is 13.579 m in length, 2.11 m in diameter and weighs in at 58.5 tonnes.
It is a three-stage rocket, each stage containing a solid-fuel rocket motor.
It is thought to have an accuracy of 90 m CEP
Trident II has a range of 11,000 km or 6,835 miles and Ohio class ballistic missile submarines
carries 24 of these.
Trident II is a Multiple Independently targetable Reentry Vehicle (MIRV) missiles.
Each Trident II can carry up to 14 W88 (475 kt) warheads or 14 W76 (100 kt) warheads.
To give the viewer a perspective, Little Boy atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima had a yield
of 15 kt of TNT and Fat Man atomic bomb that was detonated over Nagasaki had a yield of
21 kt of TNT.
New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) between the United States and the Russian
Federation agreed on having only 8 warheads per missile, so currently, each Trident II
is armed with 8 warheads.
In short, a full salvo from an Ohio-class submarine—which can be launched in less
than one minute—could unleash up to 24 multiple 8 i.e. 192 nuclear warheads.
This is enough to obliterate huge landmass.
The 14 Ballistic Missile Submarines of Ohio class together carry approximately 50% of
the total US active inventory of strategic thermonuclear warheads.
A credible, effective nuclear deterrent is essential to the national security of the
U.S.
Not only this, U.S is also, directly and indirectly, responsible for the security of many nations
including NATO members.
Ballistic Missile submarines are the cornerstone of America’s nuclear posturing and will
remain so for foreseeable future.
The Trident II SLBM deployed in Ohio class subs is the most survivable part of America’s
nuclear deterrent and allows great operational flexibility.
In this situation, it is paramount that the U.S regularly validates these missiles.
This is especially true when we consider the fact that the missiles went through the life
extension program.
Till now in 177 tests there are less than 10 failures, compare to 10 failures of Russian
Bulava SLBM in 27 tests.
The statistics are even more impressive if we keep in mind that Russian Bulava is a much
newer missile.
This demonstrates the solid reliability of Trident II missile and Ohia class submarines
as a platform.