Hoàng Sa Paracel: Only in America !!!

One Sub can take out North Korea (NK) by itself!! Only in America !!! Facts about the most feared weapon on Earth....The Boomers (23 Photos )

The U.S. Navy has 18 of the most deadly and feared weapons ever created.

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Let’s look at some facts about America’s last line of Defense…the “Boomers”.

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Meet the Ohio-class submarine. In naval terms, it makes up the Fleet Ballistic Missile submarines (FBMs).

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Aside from USS Henry M. Jackson (SSBN-730),

all of the Ohio-class subs are named after a state.

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These 18 weapons are also known as “Trident” subs because they’re a part of America’s “Nuclear Triad”.

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The Nuclear Triad is our Military’s 3-prong nuclear weapons delivery arsenal which covers Land, Air and Sea.

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Air: Strategic Bombers (the B-52 Stratofortress, B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit-pictured above)

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Land: Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs such as the Minuteman III-pictured above)

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Why do we have a 3-branches of nuclear capabilities?

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It reduces the chances that another country’s first-strike attack could destroy all of our nuclear delivery system.

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This means that, in a worst case scenario (nuclear war)…

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…America has the ability to launch a second attack.

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What weapon can lurk anywhere in 2/3rds of the Earth?

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You got it man, our Ohio-class subs.

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To be specific, the Earth’s surface is made up of 71 percent ocean water (97% of total water on the planet).

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Aside from the ocean our subs can also enter fresh water such as our Great Lakes (which already has US Navy’s USS Kentucky SSBN-737 and other smaller Los Angeles-class Attack Submarines).

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With such a massive expanse, it is simple to understand why the Ohio-class is so feared.

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However, there are more logistics to this equation.

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Starting with its power source.

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They are powered by an internal S8G PWR nuclear reactor that turns the sub’s 2 turbines which drive the rear propeller shaft.

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An Ohio-class has unlimited range with one exception…it is limited to the vessel’s supply of food for the crew.

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Other than food, she can produce her own oxygen and water supply for its crew.

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It actually moves faster under water than on the surface.

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Surfaced – max speed of 14 mph

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Submerged – 23 mph officially but unofficially, it’s been reported to move up to 29 mph

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It takes a crew of 15 Officers and 140 Enlisted men (some women) to operate the sub.

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Each Ohio-class sub has two crews called the “Blue” and “Gold”.

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Typically, one of these teams will patrol for around 3-months and then come back to port where the sub is resupplied and the other crew goes directly back out to Sea.

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This on going swap is VERY POWERFUL ELEMENT.

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What it means is, these subs (with the exception of re-supply time) are operating underwater year-round.

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Ohio-class along with our Navy’s smaller Attack subs are nearly impossible for our adversaries to locate.

But they know one thing…

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18 Ohio-class subs are lurking somewhere around the world.

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Now for the firepower.

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For defensive/offensive attack abilities against other subs, all 18 have four 533mm Mark 48 torpedo tubes.

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Mark 48 torpedos have an effective range (officially) “greater than 5 miles”.

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Depending on depth of launch, they travel at speeds up to 63 mph and detonate using a proximity fuze (when the torpedo senses the opponent’s sub/ship).

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14 of these subs are ballistic missile submarines (SSBN).

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And 4 have been converted to guided missile submarines (SSGN).

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Ok, acronyms. What can they launch?

For reference, a kiloton (kt) = 220,462,262 lbs.

As in,

a single kt is over 220.4 million pounds.

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The 8 oldest of 14 SSBN carry the following nuclear armament:

24 Trident I/C4 missiles that cover a range of 4,600 miles.

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Each missile has Multiple Independently targetable Reentry Vehicle (MIRV).

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MIRVs are capable of being aimed to hit multiple different targets with nuclear warheads.

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A single missile carries 8 thermonuclear warheads that can break-off to hit up to 8 targets with 100 kilotons of TNT. (total of 800 kt of TNT)

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Just for perspective,

the largest of the 2 nukes dropped during WW2 “Fat Man” had a total of 21 kt of TNT.

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The 10 newer SSBNs armament:

24 Trident II/C5 missiles that cover a range of 7,000 miles.

Each Trident II SLBM missile can carry 12 MIRV thermonuclear warheads…these ones can hit twelve targets with up to 475 kt of TNT.

(total of 5,700 kt of TNT)

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Single missile from these ten Ohio-class subs:

-Equal to 1,256,634,893,400 pounds of TNT

as in

-One Trillion Two Hundred Fifty-Six Million Plus lbs. of BOOM

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Up-graded 4 SSGN -Guided Missile subs armament:

22 tubes with 7 Tomahawk Cruise Missiles (total 154)

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Tomahawks are versatile.

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They can be equipped with thermonuclear warheads…

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…Or conventional high explosives for specific entrenched targets

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…Or BLU-97/B Combined Effects Bomb.

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Tomahawks with BLU-97/B CE bombs have multiple cluster bombs that spin off around 2.6 seconds above ground. The cluster bombs can take out wide areas of less fortified targets.

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In addition, the SSGNs can be used to deliver many other specialized weapons such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)…and one real cool group of weapons.

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They can convert 2 of the 22 tubes into swimmer lockout chambers which provide a dry dock shelter for Navy SEALS or Marine special operation scout teams.

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In the dry dock tubes, SEALs can prepare to get on their SDV mini-subs.

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Naval slang: “12 mile limit”.

Referring to the international 12 mile boundary, but sailors use it to mark the time when “anything goes” when outside the 12 mile limit.

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