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Submarine-launched ballistic missile
 
 
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Submarine-launched ballistic missiles or SLBMs are ballistic missile
Ballistic missile

A ballistic missile is a missile that follows a sub-orbital ballistics flightpath with the objective of delivering a warhead to a predetermined target....
s delivering nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon

A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either nuclear fission or a combination of fission and nuclear fusion....
s that are launched from submarine
Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below water. It differs from a submersible, which has only limited underwater capability....
s. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle
Multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle

A multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle is a collection of nuclear weapons carried on a single intercontinental ballistic missile or a submarine-launched ballistic missile ....
s (MIRVs) each of which carries a warhead
Warhead

Typically, a warhead is the explosive material and detonator that is delivered by a missile, rocket, or torpedo....
 and allows a single launched missile to strike several targets.

History
As early as 1934, H. G. Wells
H. G. Wells

Herbert George Wells , known by his pen name H. G. Wells, was an England author, best known for his work in the science fiction genre. Wells and Jules Verne are each sometimes referred to as "The Father of Science Fiction"....
 predicted, in his The Shape of Things to Come
The Shape of Things to Come

The Shape of Things to Come is a work of science fiction by H. G. Wells, published in 1933, which speculates on future events from 1933 until the year 2106....
, the use of submarines carrying "long-range air torpedoes with directional apparatus".






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Submarine-launched ballistic missiles or SLBMs are ballistic missile
Ballistic missile

A ballistic missile is a missile that follows a sub-orbital ballistics flightpath with the objective of delivering a warhead to a predetermined target....
s delivering nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon

A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either nuclear fission or a combination of fission and nuclear fusion....
s that are launched from submarine
Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below water. It differs from a submersible, which has only limited underwater capability....
s. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle
Multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle

A multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle is a collection of nuclear weapons carried on a single intercontinental ballistic missile or a submarine-launched ballistic missile ....
s (MIRVs) each of which carries a warhead
Warhead

Typically, a warhead is the explosive material and detonator that is delivered by a missile, rocket, or torpedo....
 and allows a single launched missile to strike several targets.

History


As early as 1934, H. G. Wells
H. G. Wells

Herbert George Wells , known by his pen name H. G. Wells, was an England author, best known for his work in the science fiction genre. Wells and Jules Verne are each sometimes referred to as "The Father of Science Fiction"....
 predicted, in his The Shape of Things to Come
The Shape of Things to Come

The Shape of Things to Come is a work of science fiction by H. G. Wells, published in 1933, which speculates on future events from 1933 until the year 2106....
, the use of submarines carrying "long-range air torpedoes with directional apparatus". Though he envisaged these as carrying chemical rather than nuclear warheads, he grasped the far reaching strategic implications. "The smallest of these raiders carried enough of such stuff to 'prepare' about eight hundred square miles of territory; it could have turned London or New York into a cityful of distorted corpses. These vessels made London vulnerable to Japan, Tokyo vulnerable to Dublin; they abolished the last corners of safety in the world."

The first successful tests of a submarine-based launch platform were by German U-boat
U-boat

U-boat is the anglicized#Loanwords version of the German language word , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II....
s in World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
 using a submarine towed launch platform. These and other early SLBM systems required vessels to be surfaced when they fired missiles, but after World War II, launch systems were quickly adapted to allow underwater launching. In September 1955, the Soviet Union
Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
 was the first country to launch a ballistic missile from the Zulu class submarine
Zulu class submarine

The Soviet Navy's Project 611, also known by their NATO reporting name of Zulu-class, were designed as attack submarines, but six were converted in 1956 to become the world's first ballistic missile submarines, one armed with a single F-11FM Scud missile and five others with two Scuds each....
.

Ballistic missile submarine
Ballistic missile submarine

A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine equipped to launch ballistic missiles . Ballistic missile submarines are larger than any other type of submarine, in order to accommodate SLBMs such as the Russian R-29 or the American Trident missile....
s have been of great strategic importance for the USA
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 and Russia
Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
 since the start of the Cold War
Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state of conflict, tension and competition that existed between a number of world powers, including the United States, the Soviet Union, People's Republic of China, France, United Kingdom and those countries' respective allies from the mid-1940s to the early 1990s....
, as they can hide from reconnaissance satellites and fire their nuclear weapons with virtual impunity. This makes them immune to a First Strike
First strike

In nuclear strategy, a first strike is a Preemptive war employing overwhelming force. First strike capability is a country's ability to defeat another nuclear power by destroying its arsenal to the point where the attacking country can survive the weakened retaliation while the opposing side is left unable to continue war....
 directed against nuclear forces, allowing each side to maintain the capability to launch a devastating retaliatory strike, even if all land-based missiles have been destroyed. This relieves each side of the necessity to adopt a launch-on-warning posture, with its grave attendant risk of accidental nuclear war. Additionally, the deployment of highly accurate missiles on ultra-quiet submarines allows an attacker to sneak up close to the enemy coast and launch a missile on a depressed trajectory - a very close range attack which will hit its target in a matter of minutes, thus opening the possibility of a decapitation strike
Decapitation strike

In the theory of nuclear warfare, a decapitation strike is a first strike attack that aims to remove the Command and Control mechanisms of the opponent, in the hope that it will severely degrade or destroy its capacity for nuclear retaliation....
.

Types of SLBMs


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Specific types of SLBMs include:

  • France:
    • M45 SLBM
      M45 SLBM

      The M45 SLBM is the current standard French Navy's submarine launched ballistic missile Around 200 M45 are in commission in the Force oc?anique strat?gique, the submarine nuclear deterrent component of the French Navy....
    • M51 SLBM
      M51 SLBM

      The M51 SLBM is the French Navy's future submarine launched ballistic missile, designed to replace the M45 SLBM SLBM .Each missile carries six MIRV TN 75 Nuclear weapons....
    • M-4 SLBM


  • India:
    • Sagarika
      Sagarika

      Sagarika is a nuclear-capable Submarine launched ballistic missile ballistic missile with a range of ....
       (Under induction)
    • Dhanush
      India and weapons of mass destruction

      India possesses an arsenal of nuclear weapons and maintains Intermediate-range ballistic missile ballistic missiles, long range strategic bombers, ships and cruise missile submarines to deliver them....
       (Ship launched ballistic missile)
    • Agni-III SLBM (under development, though there are speculation that it has already been tested)


  • People's Republic of China:
    • JL-1
      JL-1

      The Julang-1, also known as the JL-1 and in US nomenclature as the CSS-N-3, was China's first solid fueled ballistic missile....
    • JL-2
      JL-2

      The JL-2 is a China second generation intercontinental-range submarine-launched ballistic missile which has a three-stage, solid-fuelled propulsion design....


  • Soviet Union/Russia:
    • SS-N-4 R-13
    • SS-N-5 "Sark",R-21
    • SS-N-6 "Serb",R-27
    • SS-N-8 "Sawfly",R-29
    • SS-N-17
      SS-N-17

      RS-16 is a Soviet SLBM missile.Research began in the early 70s. It was to be fitted on only one Yankee II class submarine for evaluation on other platforms....
       "Snipe",R-31
    • SS-N-18 "Stingray", R-29,RSM-50
    • R-39 missile
      R-39 missile

      The R-39 Rif, or Rif-Ma was a Russian submarine launched ballistic missile . It had the NATO reporting name of SS-N-20 Sturgeon and the bilateral designation RSM-52....
      , SS-N-20 "Sturgeon", RSM-52
    • SS-N-23
      SS-N-23

      The R-29RM Shtil is a liquid propellant, submarine-launched ballistic missile in use by Russia. It has the alternate Russian designations RSM-54 and 3M27....
       "Skiff", R-29RM,RSM-54
    • SS-NX-30
      Bulava (missile)

      The "Bulava" is a submarine-launched ballistic missile under development in Russia. The Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology is chiefly responsible for the missile's design....
      , 3M30,R-30,RSM-56


  • US and UK:
    • Polaris missile
    • Poseidon missile
    • Trident missile
      Trident missile

      The Trident missile is a multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle submarine-launched ballistic missile designed by Lockheed Martin Space Systems in the United States which is armed with nuclear weapons and is launched from Ballistic missile submarines, nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines....
       - current


Types of SSBNs

Specific types of ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) include:

  • James Madison class
    James Madison class submarine

    The James Madison class of submarine was an evolutionary development from the Lafayette class submarine of fleet ballistic missile submarine....
     - former, US
  • Benjamin Franklin class
    Benjamin Franklin class submarine

    The Benjamin Franklin class of submarine was an evolutionary development from the James Madison class submarine of fleet ballistic missile submarine....
     - former, US
  • Triomphant class - current, France
  • Redoutable class
    Redoutable class submarine

    The Redoutable class submarine is a ballistic missile submarine class of the French French Navy, the oceanic part of the Force de frappe....
     - former, France
  • Ohio class
    Ohio class submarine

    The Ohio class is a class of nuclear-powered submarines used by the United States Navy. The United States has 18 Ohio-class submarines:...
     - current, US
  • Resolution class
    Resolution class submarine

    The Resolution-class submarine armed with the UGM-27 Polaris was Great Britain's primary nuclear deterrent from the late 1960s to 1994, when they were replaced by the Vanguard class submarine carrying the Trident missile....
     - former, UK
  • Vanguard class
    Vanguard class submarine

    The Vanguard class are the Royal Navy's current nuclear ballistic missile submarines , each armed with up to 16 Trident missile Submarine-launched ballistic missiles ....
     - current, UK
  • Type 092 (Xia class) submarine
    Xia class submarine

    The 6,500-ton Type 092 Daqingyu submarine was the first Ballistic missile submarine, nuclear marine propulsion submarine class deployed by the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy, and the first SSBN designed and built in Asia....
     - current, China
  • Type 094 (Jin class) submarine
    Type 094 submarine

    The Type 094 is a new class of ballistic missile submarine developed by the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy. The first-of-class was constructed at Huludao Shipyard in Huludao, Liaoning Province and launched in July 2004....
     - current, China
  • Advanced Technology Vessel
    Advanced Technology Vessel

    The Advanced Technology Vessel is a Nuclear navy ballistic missile submarine being constructed for the Indian Navy at Vizag, India.The submarine is a part of India's US$2.9 billion project to construct 6 nuclear submarines and the submarine is expected to enter trials by the end of 2009....
     - future (2010), India
  • List of NATO reporting names for ballistic missile submarines
    List of NATO reporting names for ballistic missile submarines

    NATO reporting name for ballistic missile submarines, with Soviet designations:* Ballistic Missile Submarines - Nuclear Propelled ** "Hotel class" 8 ships...
     - current and former, Russia


See also

  • ICBM
  • nuclear navy
    Nuclear navy

    Nuclear navy, or nuclear powered navy consists of ships powered by relatively small onboard nuclear reactors known as Nuclear marine propulsion....
  • nuclear warfare
    Nuclear warfare

    Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare refers to the strategy for fighting or deterring military conflicts and terrorism when nuclear weapons are present....
  • nuclear strategy
    Nuclear strategy

    Nuclear strategy involves the development of military doctrines and strategy 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....
  • submarine
    Submarine

    A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below water. It differs from a submersible, which has only limited underwater capability....
  • submarine-launched missile
    Submarine-launched missile

    A submarine-launched missile is a guided missile fired from a submarine. Some SMs are placed in launch capsules to be fired through the submarine's torpedo tubes....
  • vertical launching system
    Vertical Launching System

    A Vertical Launching System is a type of missile-firing system used aboard the submarines and surface vessels of several navy around the world....


External links

  • showing the launch of a Trident SLBM.