how many nuclear warheads are on a trident missile? how many nuclear warheads are on a trident missile?

On September 17, the U.S. Navy launched two unarmed Trident II D5 Life Extended (LE) submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) in a scheduled flight test in waters off Cape Canaveral, Florida. The maximum cap on the UK's arsenal of. These programs, categorized as US Fleet Ballistic Missile technologies, began in the mid-1950s. The Navy began developing the Trident D5 in March 1980. It has a maximum range of about 6,500 nautical miles (12,000 km). A variety of communication systems provide the president and secretary of defense with highly reliable, virtually instantaneous direct contact with each launch crew. Guidance System: Inertial. An average of a month is spent between patrols, with resupply facilitated by three large-diameter supply hatches. Is water a non-renewable or renewable resource? Omissions? However, by now all of the boomers are armed with the superior Trident II D5 ballistic missile, which has 50 percent greater range and is capable of very accurate strikes, which could enable them to precisely target military installations as a first-strike weapon. The ballistic missile submarine's strategic weapon is the Trident II D5 missile, which provides increased range and accuracy over the now out-of-service Trident I C4 missile. The Minuteman III missiles underwent a multi-billion dollar modernizationprogram in 2015, extending the service life of these missiles to 2030. The Pentagon proposed the Conventional Trident Modification program in 2006 to diversify its strategic options,[20] as part of a broader long-term strategy to develop worldwide rapid strike capabilities, dubbed "Prompt Global Strike". On March 21, 2003, B-52Hs launched approximately 100 CALCMs during a night mission. The B-2 has a crew of two pilots, a pilot in the left seat and mission commander in the right, compared to the B-1B's crew of four and the B-52's crew of five. The British Trident warheads are capable of selective yield, ranging from under a kiloton up to the full yield of 100 kt or so (this appears to differ from U.S. SLBM warheads). President Trumps NPR states that Americas nuclear forces are directed toward deterring aggression and preserving peace. While some of the content in the 2018 NPR is similar to past reviews including the policy of ambiguity over when the United States would use nuclear weapons there is a renewed emphasis on the role of nuclear weapons in the U.S. national security strategy, and a call for supplemental capabilities in the form of new low-yield weapons. Range: 4,000 nautical miles (4,600 statute miles, or 7,360 km). The United Kingdom is estimated to possess 225 nuclear weapons, of which 120 are operationally available and only 40 are deployed at a time. The Navy deployed a number of W76-2s by February 2020.11, The United States maintains 14 Ohio-class submarines, with two in repair at any time. Unlike Lafayette and Le Redoutable, the new submarines of the Royal Navys Resolution-class would have their hydroplanes on the bow, with the ability to fold up when parked along a pier. Ohio-class/Trident ballistic missile submarines provide the sea-based leg of the triad of U.S. strategic offensive forces. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is calling on the US to back spending on the new W93 warhead. Hard to take out. All of the deployed warheads are controlled by the Royal Navy, which maintains a continuous at-sea presence via its four Vanguard-class nuclear-powered submarines. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. "The launch of such a missile could provoke a full-scale counterattack using strategic nuclear forces," Putin said in May 2006. Privacy Policy, Nuclear Secrecy: A Case for Lifting the Veil, Op-ed: Lessons From a Year of War in Ukraine, Weve Been Talking About the Lab-Leak Hypothesis All Wrong, Global fokus o moguem nuklearnom sukobu SAD i Rusije i posledicama. The Minuteman weapon system was conceived in the late 1950s and Minuteman I was deployed in the early 1960s. ", Last edited on 21 February 2023, at 21:38, multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles, "USS Alabama Offloads Last of C4 Trident Missiles", "Letter to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of the United Kingdom Confirming the Sale of the Trident II Missile System to Her Country", "Analysis of the Fiscal Year 2012 Pentagon Spending Request", "How US nuclear force modernization is undermining strategic stability: The burst-height compensating super-fuze", "New US "Super-Fuze" Triples the Destructive Power of Submarine Launched Nuclear Weapons", "USS Rhode Island Successfully Tests Trident II D5 Missile", "US Trident failure claims contradict Michael Fallon", "How serious was the Trident missile test failure? Through various arms control agreements and unilateral reductions, the United States has atotal inventory of around 5,550nuclear warheads. Trident missiles are carried by fourteen United States Navy Ohio . A second, slightly larger. However, the Navy eventually shifted its emphasis from increasing range to improving accuracy as the Trident D5s counterforce mission became a focal design point.2, The Trident D5 has undergone extensive improvement programs. Each sub carries up to eight missiles on board, and each missile carries up to five nuclear bombs - or warheads - on top. [14] Then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair outlined plans in Parliament on 4 December 2006 to build a new generation of submarines (Dreadnought-class) to carry existing Trident missiles, and join the D5LE project to refurbish them.[15]. The specified mission trajectory is loaded onto the flight computer. Each D-5 carries eight multiple independently targetable warhead 100 kiloton warheads, giving each submarine a total of 6.4 megatons of nuclear firepower. The US$503million program would have converted existing Trident II missiles (presumably two missiles per submarine) into conventional weapons, by fitting them with modified Mk4 reentry vehicles equipped with GPS for navigation update and a reentry guidance and control (trajectory correction) segment to perform 10 m class impact accuracy. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming; the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana; and the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. [22] Russian President Vladimir Putin, among others, warned that the project would increase the danger of accidental nuclear war. The first flight test of a D-5 LE subsystem, the MK 6 Mod 1 guidance system, in Demonstration and Shakedown Operation (DASO)-23,[16] took place on USSTennessee on 22 February 2012. The Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent program will begin the replacement of Minuteman III and modernization of the 450 ICBM launch facilities in 2029. The introduction of the third generation Dreadnought class will provide the UK with a powerful strategic deterrent until the 2060s and possibly beyond. Phone: 202.546.0795, 2023 Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation However, these are intended primarily for self-defensea ballistic missile submarines job isnt to hunt enemy ships and submarines, but to lie as low and quiet as possible to deny adversaries any means of tracking their movements. Most modern designs support multiple . Trident II missiles are carried by 14 US Ohio and four British Vanguard -class submarines, with 24 missiles on each Ohio class and 16 missiles on each Vanguard class (the number of missiles on Ohio -class submarines will be reduced to 20 each starting in 2023, in compliance with the New Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty). The United States is in the process of modernizing its nuclear-capable aircraft with the F-35 and B-21 Raider. The U.S. Navy has deployed a new type of "low-yield" nuclear warhead in some of its Trident submarines . A total of 744 B-52s were built with the last, a B-52H, delivered in October 1962. So currently the US Trident II missiles are armed with 8 warheads with a 475 kT yield each. The subsequent pressure spike is strong enough to eject the missile out of the tube and give it enough momentum to reach and clear the surface of the water. With estimated costs of $46 billion each to manufacture, the next-generation boomers may be fewer in number and will use new reactors that do not require expensive overhauls and refueling, allowing them to serve on until 2085. Here are the 10 countries with the most submarines: R-36M (SS-18 Satan) This Russian Intercontinental ballistic missile is the heaviest and most powerful in the world. The B-2's low observability is derived from a combination of reduced infrared, acoustic, electromagnetic and visual and radar signatures. A 1999 UK statement limited the number of warheads to be deployed on each submarine to 48, an average of 3 warheads per missile.14 In July 2016, Parliament voted to approve new SSBNs to preserve the UK nuclear deterrent, ensuring that Trident will be deployed into 2050s.15. It's key to our nation's defense. It is assigned to the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, and the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, both of which fall under Air Force Global Strike Command; and to the Air Force Reserve Command's 307th Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base. Im referring, of course, to ballistic-missile submarines, or boomers in U.S. Navy parlance. [9] There have been fewer than 10 test flights that were failures,[10] the most recent being from HMSVengeance, one of Britain's four nuclear-armed submarines, off the coast of Florida in June 2016. The Trident II D5 fleet ballistic missile (FBM) is a three-stage, solid-propellant, inertial-guided ballistic missile developed by Lockheed Martin. In US service Trident II can be loaded with up to eight Mk-5 RVs with 475-kt W88 warheads, up to fourteen Mk-4A RVs with 90-kt W76-1 warheads, and up to fourteen Mk-4A RVs with 57-kt W76-2 warheads. In March 2021, the UK government announced it would increase its number of warheads . The current ICBM force consists of Minuteman III missiles located at the 90th Missile Wing at F.E. What is the order of organization smallest to largest? Up to 400 Minuteman III missiles make up the most responsive leg of the nuclear triad. The B-52 is a long-range, heavy bomber that can perform a variety of missions. The system uses an inertial navigation system combined with a stellar reference system that provides an accuracy of 90 m CEP. From Sept. 2 to 3, 1996, two B-52H's struck Baghdad power stations and communications facilities with 13 AGM-86C conventional air launched cruise missiles, or CALCMs, as part of Operation Desert Strike. These deadly missiles have a minimum range of 5 500 km. Corrections? The first eight Ohio-class submarines were built with the Trident I missiles. While other branches of the military may be deployed in reaction to the crisis of the day, the nuclear submarines maintain a steady routine of patrols, and communicate infrequently so as to remain as stealthy as possible. It can carry nuclear or precision guided conventional weapons with worldwide precision navigation. Wolfe said he expected the first D5LE2 missiles to be deployed aboard the ninth Columbia-class submarine by FY 2039. [13] This requires a D5 Life Extension Program (D5LEP), which is currently underway. The UK again decided to build its own submarines and outfit them with American missiles. Unfortunately technical problems plagued Skybolt, and the U.S. government canceled the missile in 1962. He has also worked in education, editing, and refugee resettlement in France and the United States. All three stages of the Trident II are made of graphite epoxy, making the missile much lighter. Greater than 4,000 nautical miles (4,600 statute miles, or 7,360 km), Thermonuclear MIRV (Multiple Independently Targetable re-entry Vehicle); Maneuverable Re-entry Vehicle. Nuclear power means the vessels can operate submerged for months at a time, their endurance limited only by the supplies needed to sustain their crews of more than 150 sailors. It provides that strategic nuclear deterrent that we depend on day after day that we've depended on decade after decade. The B-2 bombers can carry 16 gravity bombs, while the B-52 bombers carry 20 cruise missiles, each equipped with one warhead. The warheads are either the 90-kiloton W76-1 or the 455-kiloton W88. Current engineering analyses show the B-52's life span to extend beyond the year 2040. | Privacy Policy. Primary Function: Intercontinental Ballistic Missle, Date Deployed: June 1970, production cessation: December 1978, Power Plant: Three solid-propellant rocket motors, First Stage: ATK refurbished M55A1 | Second Stage: ATK refurbished SR-19 | Third Stage: ATK refurbished SR-73, Range: 6,000+ miles / 5,218 nautical miles, Speed: ~15,000 mph / Mach 23 or 24,000 kph at burnout, Inventory: Active Force - 406 | Reserve - 0 | Air National Guard - 0. Boeing Military Airplanes Co., Hughes Radar Systems Group, General Electric Aircraft Engine Group and Vought Aircraft Industries Inc., are key members of the aircraft contractor team. In the event of a nuclear exchange, a boomer would likely receive its firing orders via Very Low Frequency radio transmission. Updated with modern technology the B-52 will be capable of delivering the full complement of joint developed weapons and will continue into the 21st century as an important element of our nation's defenses. Fairchild Air Force Base played a role in the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. The main aim is to replace obsolete components at minimal cost[citation needed] by using commercial off the shelf (COTS) hardware; all the while maintaining the demonstrated performance of the existing Trident II missiles. The United States total nuclear inventory is 5,550, with around 3,800 active warheads in the stockpile and another 1,750 retired warheads awaiting dismantlement. The Ohio-class design allows the submarines to operate for 15 or more years between major overhauls. The Trident was built in two variants: the I (C4) UGM-96A and II (D5) UGM-133A; however, these two missiles have little in common. In support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the B-2 flew one of its longest missions to date from Whiteman to Afghanistan and back. The US Nuclear Arsenal. The UGM-133 Trident II D5 is the U.S. Navys latest generation submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). The country with the third most nuclear warheads is China with 350. While a submarines missiles are notpretargeted, like those in in fixed silos, they can be assigned coordinates quite rapidly. A small number of W76-2 low-yield warheads have alsobeen deployedon some Ohio-class submarines. Three generations of NIke air defense missiles showing, L-R Ajax (1953), Hercules (1958), and Zeus (1960), late 1960s or early 1970s. Sniper pods provide improved long-range target detection/identification and continuous stabilized surveillance for all missions, including close air support of ground forces. Ballistic missile submarines are specifically designed for extended deterrent patrols. When did the US Navy test fire Trident II missiles? 820 1st Street NE, Suite LL-180 Each ICBM carries one warhead, either aW87orW78. The W-88 would be launched massively as this is the warhead type designed to take out enemy missile silos, command and control bunkers, nuclear storage vaults, etc. The missiles are ejected from their tubes by igniting an explosive charge in a separate container. Their stealth design makes finding an SSBN an almost impossible task, giving pause to potential adversaries. How to Market Your Business with Webinars? It is called fallout and it typically contains hundreds of different radionuclides. Several methods have been developed to carry out this task. The Trident IIs increased payload allows nuclear deterrence to be accomplished with fewer submarines, and its high accuracy approaching that of land-based missiles enables it to be used as a first strike weapon. Inertial motion sensors are activated upon launch, and when the sensors detect downward acceleration after being blown out of the water, the first-stage motor ignites. In May 1972, the term ULMS II was replaced with Trident. The Trident missile is a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) armed with nuclear warheads. France mainly breaks with the UK on nuclear weapons in that they have 50 or so aircraft that can launch missiles with a range of about 300 miles that deliver nuclear warheads, according to Kristensen. This first appeared in January and is being reposted due to reader interest. It has an unrefueled combat range in excess of 8,800 miles (14,080 kilometers). Each submarine can carry up to 20 Trident II D5ballistic missiles. They are designed specifically for stealth and the precise delivery of nuclear warheads. The pods advanced targeting and image processing technology significantly increases the combat effectiveness of the B-52 during day, night and under-the-weather conditions in the attack of ground targets with a variety of standoff weapons (i.e., laser-guided bombs, conventional bombs and GPS-guided weapons). Sagarika is a submarine-launched ballistic missile with a range of 700 km. Arms are sea-based and carried by Trident submarine-launched ballistic missiles . 'Meanwhile, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council are spending nearly 20 times this amount on nuclear weapons alone.' According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, the cost to extend the lifetime of each US Trident nuclear missile is $140 million, the same amount as the UN shortfall. Nuclear weapons vary in their destructive power. An unknown number of the missiles are also planned for deployment for non-strategic roles with 10 kT warheads. It could deliver eight independently targetable 100-kiloton nuclear warheads to a range of 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km). Each warhead has approx 400kt of explosive yield (explosive power equivalent to 400,000 tonnes of TNT). In a written statement to Parliament, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace confirmed Feb. 25 that Britain is working on a new warhead to equip it's Trident missile-armed nuclear submarine fleet. At the time of their deployment during the Cold War, their accuracy gave them the ability, unprecedented among SLBMs, to threaten hardened missile silos and command bunkers in the Soviet Union, and their extended range allowed their submarines to patrol almost anywhere in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, making detection extremely difficult. The first B-2 was publicly displayed Nov. 22, 1988, when it was rolled out of its hangar at Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, California. Why is the Trident II used for nuclear deterrence? Should command capability be lost between the launch control center and remote missile launch facilities, specially configured E-6B airborne launch control center aircraft automatically assume command and control of the isolated missile or missiles. The launch from the submarine occurs below the sea surface. Both Trident versions are three-stage, solid-propellant, inertially guided missiles, and both guidance systems use a star sighting to improve overall weapons system accuracy. The Royal Navy will builds four Dreadnought-class subs, each weighing 17,200 tons, with construction beginning in September 2016. Each of the 14 Ohio-class SSBNs can carry up to 20 submarine-launched ballistic missiles with multiple, independently targeted warheads. The Arihants carry up to 12 K-15 missiles in four launchers, each armed with one warhead with a range of 466 miles or four K-4 missiles with a range of 2,174 miles. Meanwhile, the New START treaty which came into effect in 2011 imposes additional limits on the number of deployed nuclear weapons. Trident missiles are carried by fourteen United States Navy Ohio-class submarines, with American warheads, as well as four Royal Navy Vanguard-class submarines, with British warheads. Improved air-burst fuses were considered for the Mk 4 RV in 1998. Missile Defense Project, "Trident D5," Missile Threat, Center for Strategic and International Studies, September 19, 2016, last modified July 30, 2021, https://missilethreat.csis.org/missile/trident/.Copy. The Trident can be fired at targets up to 4,000 miles away, ejected by high-pressure gas before the rockets fire when the missile reaches the surface. 2 How many missiles does a Trident submarine carry? Each Trident missile has a range of up to 7,500 miles (12,000km) and is accurate to within a few feet. [5], The total cost of the Trident program thus far came to $39.546 billion in 2011, with a cost of $70 million per missile.[6]. The Trident missile rises into space above missile defense systems and releases the MIRV's. [17] This was almost exactly 22 years after the first Trident II missile was launched from Tennessee in February 1990. He currently writes on security and military history forWar Is Boring. The B-2 Combined Test Force, Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California, is responsible for flight testing the engineering, manufacturing and development aircraft on the B-2. To decrease the amount of time required for replenishment and maintenance, Ohio-class submarines have three large-diameter logistics hatches that allow sailors to rapidly transfer supply pallets, equipment replacement modules and machinery components, thereby increasing their operational availability. Launch crews, consisting of two officers, perform around-the-clock alerts in the launch control center. B-52s are currently upgrading from the Litening Advanced Targeting Pod to the Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod. The B-2 provides the penetrating flexibility and effectiveness inherent in manned bombers. Land Each Trident missile can carry 8 Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicles (MIRV's) armed with a nuclear warhead. There are eight Trident submarines that hold 20 D5 missiles per sub. In less than a decades time, there would be dozens ofrealundersea beasts capable of destroyingmultiplecities at a time. The British Trident IIs are reported to carry an average of three 100-kiloton warheads each, while the U.S. missiles are variously reported as carrying four, six, eight, or even more 475-kiloton warheads. Minuteman was a revolutionary concept and an extraordinary technical achievement. Since the conclusion of the weapons testing in the 1980s, radionuclides in the atmosphere have largely decayed away. [21] It offered the promise of accurate conventional strikes with little warning and flight time. The missile is named after the mythological trident of Neptune.[1]. [4] Under the agreement, the United Kingdom paid an additional 5% of their total procurement cost of $2.5 billion to the US government as a research and development contribution. Trident II (designated D5) had the objective of improved circular error probable (CEP), or accuracy, and was first deployed in 1990, and was planned to be in service for the thirty-year life of the submarines, until 2027. The Trident missile rises into space above missile defense systems and releases the MIRVs. The United Kingdom had no missile submarines to carry Polarisit would have to build them. It relies on an existing US. Sagarika has . In addition to a longer-range missile, a larger submarine was proposed to replace the Lafayette, James Madison and Benjamin Franklin-class SSBNs in 1978. A 2016 report notes that nine Ohio-class submarines are deployed in the Pacific and five in the Atlantic.12, The Navys forthcoming Columbia-class submarine will equip the Trident D5 as it enters service in the early 2030s. 5 How many Trident II missiles are on a Vanguard class submarine? The ULMS II missile system was designed to be retrofitted to the existing SSBNs, while also being fitted to the proposed Ohio-class submarine. All 24 missiles can be launched in less than one minute. Weight: 130,000 pounds (58,500 kg). The B-52 is capable of dropping or launching the widest array of weapons in the U.S. inventory. At its peak, the United States hadmore than 31,000nuclear weapons in its stockpile. Modernization programs have resulted in new versions of the missile, expanded targeting options, and improved accuracy and survivability. Depot maintenance responsibility for the B-2 is performed by Air Force contractor support and is managed at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. The Trident II D-5 has a range of 4,600 miles, meaning it can strike targets across European Russia with ease. How many nuclear warheads can a Trident missile carry? [2] Its objective was to achieve performance similar to Poseidon (C3) but at extended range. Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved, receive some additional acoustic stealth upgrades. It is an Inertial Guidance System with an additional star-sighting system (this combination is known as astro-inertial guidance), which is used to correct small position and velocity errors that result from launch condition uncertainties due to errors in the submarine navigation system and errors that may have accumulated in the guidance system during the flight due to imperfect instrument calibration. The U.S. Air Force operates a fleet of20 deployedB-2 bombers and 46 deployed B-52 bombers. It is three-staged and uses solid-propellant.9, The 2018 Nuclear Posture Review highlighted the need for a new low-yield Trident missile to deter adversary use of similarly low-yield nuclear weapons.10 Congress appropriated $65 million in FY2019 and $10 million in FY2020 to fund the new warhead, which was designated the W76-2. A compilation of platforms and weapons, the three legs of the U.S. nuclear triad serve as the backbone of Americas national security. For a discussion of the British nuclear weapons program, see, Trident I first launch on 18 January 1977 at Cape Canaveral, Suzanne Doyle, "The United States Sale of Trident to Britain, 19771982: Deal Making in the Anglo-American Relationship. Nuclear weapons delivery is the technology and systems used to place a nuclear weapon at the position of detonation, on or near its target. . The Trident II, or D-5, is about 46 feet (14 metres) long and carries multiple independently targeted warheads. With the exception of theHenry M. Jackson, each is named after a U.S. state, an honor previously reserved for large surface warships. A midlife improvement for the missile, Polaris A-3TK, replaced the single warhead with two Chevaline warheads plus penetration aids. All rights reserved. Trident I (designated as C4) was deployed in 1979 and retired in 2005. Trident missiles are deployed in four submarines, one of which is continuously at sea to make sure it can strike back in the event of an unprovoked nuclear attack. Each Trident missile can carry up to eight nuclear warheads, but usually carry four to five for an average of 90 warheads per submarine. PA. The aircraft received full operational capability status in December 2003. The H model can carry up to 20 air launched cruise missiles. Before the launch sequence is initiated, the on-board MARK 6 navigation system is activated. The Trident D5 entered service in 1990.1, The Trident D5 was originally intended to significantly increase range compared to the first-generation Trident I C4. The Trident was to be a larger, higher-performance missile with a range capacity greater than 6000mi. UGM-133 TRIDENT 2 ( Nuclear Missile Name ) Top-10-Missiles-That-Can-Carry-Nuclear-Warheads-MIRV. Complicate enemy attack & capable of providing prompt, overwhelming response. America's ICBM force has remained on continuous, around-the-clock alert since 1959. The downrange and crossrange dispersion of the targets remains classified. Its payload carries a Post-Boost Vehicle (PBV) which can carry up to 12 Reentry Vehicles (RVs), though New START limits the number to eight. The B-21 Raider will first supplement, then eventually replace, the B-2 beginning in the mid-2020s. This survivability gives national leadership greater flexibility in the decision-making process. How much damage would a Trident missile do? A Trident submarine off the coast of Southern California in 2004. However, Congress rejected funding for this program.4, In June 2002, the Navy initiated the D5 Life Extension to replace aging missile parts and extend missile life from 30 to 44 years.5, In January 2021, VADM Johnny Wolfe announced the Navy would start the Trident D5 Extension Life II upgrade this year.6 The second life extension program seeks to increase the Trident D5s lifespan for another 60 years to deploy through the 1980s.7, Since the Tridents design completion in 1989, the U.S. Navy has successfully conducted over 160 missile test launches.8, The Trident D5 has a range of 12,000 km and can carry a payload as large as 2,800 kg. Like the French Le Redoutable class, the submarines would bear a strong resemblance to the U.S. Navys Lafayette-class ballistic missile submarines, with two rows of eight missiles tubes each behind the sail. With inertial guidance refined by stellar or satellite navigation, Tridents are more accurate than most land-based ballistic missiles. The same Congressional report noted that, based on the projected procurement schedule, the first Columbia- class submarine will be delivered by 2028 and become operational by 2031, at a total cost of $8.4 billion .