Nuclear-Armed Torpedoes Urged for U.S. Submarines

WASHINGTON — Defense experts say U.S. attack submarines may have to be equipped with nuclear-armed torpedoes as the ultimate weapon against Soviet undersea boats with their superior armament, speed and depth capability.

“Improvements in the performance of Soviet submarines are being watched with intense concern in the West,” they said in the August issue of U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, the monthly publication of the unofficial but authoritative Naval Institute at Annapolis, Md.

“While the U.S. Navy seeks to improve its own undersea craft and other anti-submarine warfare (ASW) systems, the key issue in future ASW operations will more likely be torpedo effectiveness,” wrote Norman Polmar, an internationally recognized authority on the U.S. and Soviet navies, and Donald M. Kerr, a nuclear expert who formerly was director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

Navy Limited in Torpedoes

“Yet the U.S. Navy is currently limited in torpedo size and performance,” they said.

“Assuming the U.S. Navy reaches its current goal of 100 (nuclear-propelled attack submarines), the ratio of Soviet submarine targets to U.S. attack submarines will be about 4 to 1.”

The Soviets have an active undersea fleet of 382 submarines, including both nuclear and diesel-powered attack and missile submarines, plus 80 very old diesel types in reserve. The United States has an active fleet of 143 submarines, including 100 nuclear-powered attack, 40 nuclear-powered ballistic missile and only three diesel-powered submarines.

“The Soviet speed advantage can allow their submarines literally to outrun U.S. torpedoes in certain scenarios,” the article said. At the same time, Soviet subs are tough to penetrate. Most of them appear to have double hulls, it said.

“A nuclear warhead is clearly superior to a conventional warhead when it comes to lethality,” they concluded.

Asked for comment on the article, a Navy spokesman at the Pentagon said: “We don’t have any nuclear torpedoes deployed, we have none in storage and no plans to produce any types.”