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...The Navy has 14 Trident submarines armed with ballistic missiles. Each sub carries 24 Trident II ballistic missiles with a range exceeding 4,000 miles. Originally deployed with eight independently targetable nuclear warheads, each Trident missile is scheduled to carry four warheads once the latest START nuclear arms reduction treaty comes into force. Notable for its simplicity, the Pentagon plan would place four independently targetable non-nuclear warheads on each of two Trident II missiles on every Trident submarine. Each sub could attack up to eight targets with conventional weapons. Replacing nuclear warheads with conventional warheads on two missiles need not reduce the nuclear capability of the submarine because additional nuclear warheads could easily be added to the remaining 22 nuclear-armed missiles.
Trident II ballistic missiles are extraordinarily accurate. Gen. James E. Cartwright, who heads the U.S. Strategic Command, told the New York Times that the Trident II, launched from thousands of miles away, could deliver its conventional warheads within five yards of their targets. Moreover, the Trident II missile could carry out its conventional attack within an hour of a presidential command. The maneuvering areas and the missile range of deployed Trident submarines combine to effectively place the entire globe within range...
