
A cruise missile submarine is a
submarine
A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
that carries and launches
cruise missile
A cruise missile is an unmanned self-propelled guided missile that sustains flight through aerodynamic lift for most of its flight path. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large payload over long distances with high precision. Modern cru ...
s (
SLCMs consisting of
land-attack cruise missiles and
anti-ship missile
An anti-ship missile (AShM or ASM) is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea-skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing. ...
s) as its primary armament. Missiles greatly enhance a
warship
A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is used for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the navy branch of the armed forces of a nation, though they have also been operated by individuals, cooperatives and corporations. As well as b ...
's ability to attack surface combatants and strike land targets; although
torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
es are a more discreet option for submerged submarines, missiles give a much longer
stand-off range, shorter time to impact the target, as well as the ability to engage multiple targets on different headings at the same time. Many cruise missile submarines retain the capability to deploy
nuclear warhead
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear expl ...
s on their missiles, but they are considered distinct from
ballistic missile submarine
A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. These submarines became a major weapon system in the Cold War because of their nuclear deterrence capabi ...
s due to the substantial differences between the two weapons systems' flight characteristics; cruise missiles fly aerodynamically using flight surfaces like wings or fins, while a
ballistic missile
A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are powered only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) typic ...
uses its engine power alone as it may
exit the atmosphere.
The
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
's
hull classification symbol
The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) use a hull classification symbol (sometimes called hull code or hull number) to identify their ships by type and by ind ...
s for cruise missile submarines are SSG and SSGN – the ''SS'' denotes submarine, the ''G'' denotes
guided missile
A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of Propulsion, self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor.
Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a targ ...
, and the ''N'' denotes that the submarine is
nuclear-powered
Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...
.
The earliest designs of cruise missile submarines had to surface to launch their missiles, while later designs could do so underwater via dedicated
vertical launching system (VLS) tubes. Many modern
attack submarine
An attack submarine or hunter-killer submarine is a submarine specifically designed for the purpose of attacking and sinking other submarines, surface combatants, and merchant vessels. In the Soviet Navy, Soviet and Russian Navy, Russian navies ...
s can launch cruise missiles (and dedicated anti-ship missiles) from their torpedo tubes while some designs also incorporate a small number of VLS canisters, giving an overlap between cruise missile submarines and traditional attack submarines. Nonetheless, vessels classified as attack submarines are designed to use torpedoes as their main armament and have a more multi-role mission profile due to their greater speed and maneuverability. This is in contrast to cruise missile submarines which are typically larger, slower boats carrying a larger number of missiles and often possess a special
compartment dedicated solely to the cruise missile tubes.
U.S. Navy

The U.S. Navy's
first cruise missile submarines were developed in the early 1950s to carry the
SSM-N-8 Regulus
The SSM-N-8A Regulus, also known as the Regulus I and RGM-6, is a nuclear-capable turbojet-powered second generation cruise missile operated by the US Navy between 1955 and 1964. Its development was an outgrowth of U.S. Navy tests conducted wi ...
missile. The first of these was a converted World War II era , , which was fitted with a hangar capable of carrying a pair of Regulus missiles. ''Tunny'' was used as a test-bed for developing techniques of use for the missile system, before a second boat, was subsequently converted. Starting in 1957, these two boats undertook the first
nuclear deterrent
Nuclear strategy involves the development of doctrines and strategies for the production and use of nuclear weapons.
As a sub-branch of military strategy, nuclear strategy attempts to match nuclear weapons as means to political ends. In addit ...
patrols.
[Friedman since 1945, p. 183]
Subsequently, two larger diesel submarines of the were purpose built for the carriage of the Regulus missile, with each capable of accommodating up to four missiles, while a further boat, the nuclear-powered , could carry up to five missiles. Between September 1959 and July 1964, the five Regulus missile boats undertook deterrent patrols in the Pacific Ocean, in concert with the newly commissioned ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) in the Atlantic, until sufficient SSBNs were in service to replace them.
From 2002 to 2008, the U.S. Navy modified the four oldest submarines: , , , and into SSGNs. The conversion was achieved by installing VLS in a ''multiple all-up-round canister'' (MAC) configuration in 22 of the 24 missile tubes, replacing one
Trident missile
The Trident missile is a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) equipped with multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRV). Originally developed by Lockheed Missiles and Space Corporation, the missile is armed with thermonu ...
with seven smaller
Tomahawk cruise missile
The BGM-109 Tomahawk () Land Attack Missile (TLAM) is an American long-range, all-weather, jet-powered, subsonic cruise missile that is primarily used by the United States Navy and Royal Navy in ship and submarine-based land-attack operations.
...
s. The two remaining tubes were converted to
lockout chamber
A diving chamber is a vessel for human occupation, which may have an entrance that can be sealed to hold an internal pressure significantly higher than ambient pressure, a pressurised gas system to control the internal pressure, and a supply of ...
s for use by special forces personnel. This gave each converted submarine the capability to carry up to 154 Tomahawks. The large diameter tubes can also be modified to carry and launch other payloads, such as
UAVs or
UUVs although these capabilities have not yet been fully implemented. In addition to generating a significant increase in stand-off strike capabilities, this conversion also counts as an arms reduction towards the
START II
START II (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) was a bilateral treaty between the United States and Russia on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. It was signed by US President George H. W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yel ...
treaty, because it reduces the number of nuclear weapons that are forward-deployed. USS ''Florida'' (SSGN-728) launched cruise missiles against
Libya
Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
n targets as part of
Operation Odyssey Dawn
Operation Odyssey Dawn was the U.S. code name for the American role in the international military operation in Libya to enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 during the initial period of 19–31 March 2011, which continued aft ...
in March 2011.
Currently,
Virginia-class submarines (''Block I–IV'') serve as universal ships, both
attack submarine
An attack submarine or hunter-killer submarine is a submarine specifically designed for the purpose of attacking and sinking other submarines, surface combatants, and merchant vessels. In the Soviet Navy, Soviet and Russian Navy, Russian navies ...
s and cruise-missile submarines with 12 ×
Vertical launching system (VLS) for
Tomahawk cruise missiles. The future
Virginia-class (''Block V'') submarines with 40
Tomahawk cruise missiles are slated to supplement and eventually replace the Ohio SSGNs when they are retired; the ''USS Ohio'' itself is more than 40 years old.
File:USS Cusk;0834807.jpg, USS Cusk
USS ''Cusk'' (SS/SSG/AGSS-348) was a ''Balao''-class submarine of the United States Navy named for the cusk, a large food fish related to the cod.
History
''Cusk'' was launched 28 July 1945 by Electric Boat, Groton, Conn.; cosponsored by M ...
fires a JB-2 Loon missile, 1951
File:USS Tunny (SSG-282) Regulus launching sequence c1956.jpg, USS Tunny fires a Regulus I, 1956
File:SSGN728 030116-N-XXXXX-001.jpg, Tomahawk test-fire from USS Florida, 2008
File:USS-Georgia-(SSGN-729).jpg, USS Georgia underway, 2012
Soviet Navy/Russian Navy
The
Soviet Navy
The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...
(and its successor, the
Russian Navy
The Russian Navy is the Navy, naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had i ...
) has operated a wide variety of dedicated cruise missile submarines (unbolded project numbers were prototypes/never entered military service):
Khruschev encouraged the development of missiles in the Soviet Union; thus the issues of
effective nuclear deterrence and delivery and
US Carrier Strike Groups were to be solved through advances in missilery. Submerged submarines are more concealable than surface ships; missiles carried upon them were therefore safer from attack by NATO surface fleets, land-based aircraft, and long-range
patrol bombers. Thus the strategic and tactical strike missions were solved through the equipment of submarines with large, long-range cruise missiles: first through the
modification
Modification may refer to:
* Modifications of school work for students with special educational needs
* Modifications (genetics), changes in appearance arising from changes in the environment
* Posttranslational modifications, changes to prote ...
of existing boats, then by boats being built for the task.
The Whiskey variants and Echo I cruise missile submarines deployed with a nuclear land attack version of the
P-5 Pyatyorka (SS-N-3 Shaddock) from the late 1950s to 1964, concurrently with the US Regulus force, until the strategic land attack mission was transferred entirely to the SSBN force. Along with the Julietts and Echo IIs, these continued as SSGs or SSGNs with an antiship variant of the P-5 until circa 1990. The ''Echo I''s were an exception; they could not accommodate the anti-ship targeting radar and served as SSNs after the land attack missiles were withdrawn.
Apart from true guided-missile submarines, late-Soviet attack submarines could launch various types of
torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes.
There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
-launched missiles starting with the
RK-55 and continuing with the
Kalibr family of missiles. Cruise-missile capable Soviet submarines may have a different designation to incapable sister boats (
''Victor'' III (Project 671RTM) boats became Project 671RTMK as they gained this ability, K for Крылатая ракета; cruise missile). Due to standardization of torpedo tube diameters, which are
533 mm,
modern Russian attack submarine classes (even the
diesel Kilo
Kilo may refer to:
*kilo- (k-), a metric prefix denoting a factor of 103
*Kilogram (kg), a metric unit of mass
Music
*Kilo, a funk/R&B band from Bloomington/Indianapolis/Indiana
*KILO, a Colorado radio station
*''El Kilo'', a 2005 album by th ...
and
Lada
LadaAccording to various sources, the name Lada is derived from a Russian word for Viking longships (). (, , marketed as LADAFrom 2004 onwards Lada is marketed worldwide, including in Russia, using the all-capitals brand name written in Latin sc ...
) are capable of launching long-range strategic cruise missiles from their torpedo tubes, without needing specialized compartments for missile tubes.
File:DN-ST-84-01654-Papa class-Oct 1983.JPEG, K-222, the sole Project 661 submarine underway, 1983
File:DN-ST-86-11105-Juliett_class_submarine-11_Aug_1986.JPEG, A Project 651 boat underway, 1986
File:2023.09.29.143258 U-461 Peenemünde DE.jpg, K-24 (now U-461 of the Peenemünde
Peenemünde (, ) is a municipality on the Baltic Sea island of Usedom in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in north-eastern Germany. It is part of the ''Amt (country subdivision), Amt'' (collective municipality) of Used ...
Maritime Museum), Project 651 ''Juliett'' cruise missile submarine, with rear SS-N-3 Shaddock launch tubes in raised position
File:DN-SC-89-03179 INS Chakra submarine.jpg, INS Chakra underway, c. 1988
File:Oscar class submarine 2.JPG, Project 949 (Oscar-I) underway. The Oscar-classes are notably girthy; the very large P-700 missiles were placed outside the pressure hull
A submarine hull has two major components, the ''superstructure'' and the ''pressure hull''. The external portion of a submarine’s hull—that part that does not resist sea pressure and is free-flooding—is known as the “superstructure” i ...
, twelve launch tubes on each side
File:Oscar class submarine 1.JPG, Project 949A (Oscar-II) underway. Pr. 949A boats had a different tail fin which accommodated the towed-array sonar (cylinder visible at the bottom of photo), an easy way to distinguish this class from its immediate predecessor
See also
*
List of submarine classes in service
*
List of submarine operators
*
List of NATO reporting names for guided-missile submarines
*
Missile boat
A missile boat or missile cutter is a small, fast warship armed with anti-ship missiles. Being smaller than other warships such as destroyers and frigates, missile boats are popular with nations interested in forming a navy at lower cost. They ...
(surface ship)
*
Transporter erector launcher
A transporter erector launcher (TEL) is a missile vehicle with an integrated tractor unit that can transport, elevate to a firing position and launch one or more rockets or missiles.
History
Such vehicles exist for both surface-to-air missiles ...
(land vehicle)
References
External links
*
US Stingray style sub motherships test missiles The Register
''The Register'' (often also called El Reg) is a British Technology journalism, technology news website co-founded in 1994 by Mike Magee (journalist), Mike Magee and John Lettice. The online newspaper's Nameplate_(publishing), masthead Logo, s ...
, 31 May 2007
{{Warship types of the 19th & 20th centuries