US lawmakers aim to prevent sea-based cruise missile

[Haijun watcher]

Defense News

Lawmakers aim to prevent sea-based nuclear cruise missile
By: Joe Gould ? 6 hours ago
WASHINGTON ? Two Democratic lawmakers are introducing legislation to kill the nuclear-armed, sea-launched cruise missile set to begin development next year and its associated warhead.
Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a lead appropriator, and House Seapower Subcommittee Chairman Joe Courtney, of Connecticut, planned Thursday to unveil the bill, a copy of which was obtained by Defense News. It�s the latest sign of pressure on President Joe Biden from his own party to scale back nuclear plans formed under the Trump administration.
The bill would prohibit research and development, production, and deployment of the missile, known as the SLCM-N, arguing that the Obama administration found a similar weapon, the TLAM-N, redundant and retired it. The lawmakers say the cost of the SLCM-N would top the Congressional Budget Office estimate of $9 billion.
In a statement, Courtney said that installing nuclear warheads on Virginia-class attack subs would sap resources from growing the Navy�s fleet and distract from the core mission of attack submarines in the Pacific and European theaters, where they are typically laden with ship-killing, conventional Tomahawk missiles.

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