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.
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