Skip to content  The Hybrid Missile Submarine  May 1, 2010  My
thinking on the line of what may be an affordable Trident
Ballistic Missile Submarine replacement, for both the US and UK,
has been the cruise missile submarine. Since both nations are
nearing decision time for their respective replacement programs,
both also are forecasting impending doom to their respective
fleets for the enormous expense of such an undertaking ($30
billion for the UK and $100 billion for the US). Each Navy has
stretched themselves very thin in terms of shipbuilding
resources, heavily invested as they are in the “5 Battleships“,
there is no room left for extras.  Admittedly, the Tomahawk land
attack missile (TLAM) is not the most desirable choice, it being
principally a tactical weapon, though its range is much like
that of the early Polaris missiles deployed by the RN and
USN into the 1970s. Another plus is the fact that American and
British boats already operate TLAM, so the transition with a
nuclear version would be the simpl