Navy Preserves Ability to “Mass” Submarine-Fired Tomahawk Attacks

by Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

Submarine-fired Tomahawks have often been the “first to strike” weapons across many years of conflict, as they can target enemy command and control, infrastructure, equipment and weapons along with other critical high-value targets. At times, depending upon the conflict, there will be a need to unleash massive amounts of firepower or at least “position” very large amounts of firepower within striking distance of an enemy coastline.  Submarines firing Tomahawks can often do this from safe stand-off ranges to prepare an enemy coastline for further, closer-in kinds of attacks. 

Tomahawk missiles able to change course in flight to destroy moving targets at sea, hypersonic weapons fired from the deck of Navy destroyers and air-launched Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles (LRASM) are fast evolving instruments of Naval firepower, something which remains an unparalleled priority for the Navy and Marine Corps.

Firepower will continue to prove extremely critical for Naval operations, particularly given the sheer size and capability of potential adversaries’ Naval forces. The ability to “mass” power blended with precision-targeting is a massive priority for the Navy, one reason why the service may extend the service-life of its four SSGN Ohio-class Guided Missile Submarines able to travel with 154 Tomahawks per boat. 

Drones, networks, electronic warfare (EW) and AI-enabled multi-domain targeting are all properly receiving massive amounts of focus when it comes to innovation, modernization, and preparations for future warfare, yet none of these next-generation applications can achieve much battlefield effects without simple “firepower,” and “lethality.” Ultimately, lethal effects must be brought upon a target with sufficient destructive power to achieve the intended result. Even with the many breakthroughs in the realm of precision targeting, many targets can be large and require a substantial amount of firepower to destroy.

This reality is not lost on weapons developers, who recognize the importance of maintaining undersea firepower in the form of torpedoes and Tomahawk missiles. Part of this important need to “mass” firepower has for years been contained in the U.S. Navy’s so-called SSGNs, guided missile submarines, each able to carry as many as 154 Tomahawk missiles. This is an extremely impactful amount of mobile, undersea firepower, particularly given that Tomahawks can travel as far as 900 miles to a target. SSGNs have been used to fire weapons in several conflicts, including Libya in 2011.

These submarines, much like the nuclear-armed Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines, have already more than outlived their intended lifespan. Therefore, in anticipation of their retirement, the U.S. Navy has been fast-tracking what it calls Virginia Payload Modules for Block V Virginia-class submarines. This module is an added 80-foot section on Virginia class submarines that massively increases firepower from 12 Tomahawks to 40 Tomahawks per boat. This initiative, already progressing and under construction, is intended as a deliberate effort to help offset the loss of firepower expected when the four SSGNs retire.