On November 15, Forward Defense Senior Fellow Rob Soofer was quoted in an article for Breaking Defense on the challenges to producing the nuclear submarine-launched cruise missile (SLCM-N). The article, written by Sydney J. Freedberg Jr., discusses the production base that will be required to produce the SLCM-N, a system that was almost cancelled by the Biden administration, without compromising hypersonic weapon development or ballistic missile modernization efforts. Soofer argues for the next administration to develop and produce the SLCM-N quickly, saying that “If you’re going to tell President Trump it’s going to take you 10 years to make a new missile, he’s going to go ballistic — pardon the pun… He’s going to say, ‘We’re going to need another option.'” Soofer believes the timeline should take five years at most, and that the process can be expedited by modifying non-nuclear systems currently in use. “We have a missile, a Tomahawk missile, that has been upgraded continuously to the Block V. It’s got the range that we need,” Soofer expressed. “I guarantee you that the labs can put a nuclear warhead on that.”
Forward Defense leads the Atlantic Council’s US and global defense programming, developing actionable recommendations for the United States and its allies and partners to compete, innovate, and navigate the rapidly evolving character of warfare. Through its work on US defense policy and force design, the military applications of advanced technology, space security, strategic deterrence, and defense industrial revitalization, it informs the strategies, policies, and capabilities that the United States will need to deter, and, if necessary, prevail in major-power conflict.
