{"id":9295,"date":"2014-07-22T15:37:17","date_gmt":"2014-07-22T15:37:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lexingtoninstitute.org\/?p=9295"},"modified":"2014-07-22T15:37:17","modified_gmt":"2014-07-22T15:37:17","slug":"navys-trident-ii-missile-shows-why-its-the-backbone-of-the-u-s-nuclear-deterrent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lexingtoninstitute.org\/navys-trident-ii-missile-shows-why-its-the-backbone-of-the-u-s-nuclear-deterrent\/","title":{"rendered":"Navy&#8217;s Trident II Missile Shows Why It&#8217;s The Backbone Of The U.S. Nuclear Deterrent"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Something positive and important happened in June that deserved more\u00a0notice than it got.\u00a0 The Navy successfully launched two Trident II (D-5) Fleet Ballistic Missiles from a submerged Ohio-class submarine, marking the 149th and 150th successful test flights of the\u00a0system since design was completed in 1989.\u00a0 The two\u00a0launches set a new global reliability record for large ballistic missiles, which further confirms the status of the Ohio fleet\u00a0as the most secure and dependable leg of the nuclear triad.<\/p>\n<p>The missiles are manufactured by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, which traces its role as the Navy&#8217;s prime contractor for strategic missiles back to the inception of the Polaris program in 1955.\u00a0 The\u00a0D-5 is deployed on 14 boats in the Ohio fleet and four Vanguard-class subs operated by the United Kingdom&#8217;s Royal Navy.\u00a0\u00a0The missile\u00a0is undergoing a series of upgrades designed to extend its service life through 2040 &#8212; not only on Ohio-class boats, but on successor submarines currently in the early stages of development.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. strategy seeks to deter nuclear war by maintaining an assured retaliatory capability that would negate any advantage an enemy might seek to achieve in launching a surprise attack.\u00a0 The\u00a0present deterrent force consists of submarine-launched ballistic missiles, land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, and long-range bombers.\u00a0 The sea-based leg of the nuclear force is generally recognized to be the most resilient, because when Trident boats are submerged away from their home ports, they cannot be tracked or targeted by enemies.<\/p>\n<p>Over time, the U.S. will probably expand the role of active defenses in its strategic posture.\u00a0 However, there is no time in the foreseeable future when survivable offensive forces will not be crucial to the prevention of a nuclear exchange.\u00a0 The reliability of Lockheed Martin&#8217;s missile and the\u00a0outstanding discipline of Navy nuclear crews thus play a central role in keeping the peace.\u00a0 No other\u00a0military in the world has come close to matching the\u00a0D-5&#8217;s record for reliability, underscoring the pace-setting quality of U.S.\u00a0defense technology.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Something positive and important happened in June that deserved more\u00a0notice than it got.\u00a0 The Navy successfully launched two Trident II (D-5) Fleet Ballistic Missiles from a submerged Ohio-class submarine, marking the 149th and 150th successful test flights of the\u00a0system since design was completed in 1989.\u00a0 The two\u00a0launches set a new global reliability record for large [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[144,145],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Navy&#039;s Trident II Missile Shows Why It&#039;s The Backbone Of The U.S. Nuclear Deterrent - Lexington Institute<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtoninstitute.org\/navys-trident-ii-missile-shows-why-its-the-backbone-of-the-u-s-nuclear-deterrent\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Navy&#039;s Trident II Missile Shows Why It&#039;s The Backbone Of The U.S. Nuclear Deterrent - Lexington Institute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Something positive and important happened in June that deserved more\u00a0notice than it got.\u00a0 The Navy successfully launched two Trident II (D-5) Fleet Ballistic Missiles from a submerged Ohio-class submarine, marking the 149th and 150th successful test flights of the\u00a0system since design was completed in 1989.\u00a0 The two\u00a0launches set a new global reliability record for large [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtoninstitute.org\/navys-trident-ii-missile-shows-why-its-the-backbone-of-the-u-s-nuclear-deterrent\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lexington Institute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-07-22T15:37:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lexingtoninstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/lex_share.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Loren B. 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