U.S. Nuclear Submarines Are Making Their Presence Known

The Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Alaska returns to Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay following a patrol, in Kings Bay, Georgia, in May 2014. | U.S. NAVY / VIA REUTERS  

Japan Times/Bloomberg: U.S. submarines are popping up more often and it's not clear why 

A U.S. nuclear-armed submarine will make a publicly announced visit to South Korea within months, prompting debate about the wisdom of a heightened public role for what’s long been known as the Navy’s “silent service.” 

Pentagon officials confirmed that one of the Navy’s 14 Ohio-class vessels will visit, as President Joe Biden signaled in announcing a “Nuclear Consultative Group” during last month’s White House visit by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol. 

The submarines, nicknamed Boomers, gained the silent service description because they are designed to glide undetected, and their port calls have seldom been disclosed — much less trumpeted — by their usually taciturn commanders. Each of the subs carries up to 20 D-5 Trident ballistic missiles. 

The U.S. has occasionally showcased its submarines in the past, but the pace picked up in the last year with publicized port visits by nuclear-armed Ohio-class submarines as well as Los Angeles-class subs carrying conventional Tomahawk cruise missiles. The Biden administration’s Nuclear Posture Review endorsed such demonstrations last year. 

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WNU Editor: Its all about sending a message .... The US Navy is putting its submarines on rare public display in a message to Russia's growing undersea force (Insider).