Media Center

For the cost of a laptop today, the Navy’s nuclear propulsion program began 77 years ago.

It could only have been a Navy physicist who upon observing the energy created by the splitting of uranium atoms, would also wonder if that could be used for propulsion at sea.

With North Korea demonstrating what appears to have been a successful launch of a submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM), Pyongyang may have secured a nuclear second strike capability that could reduce the value of the American nuclear umbrella over Japan and South Korea. However, though the North Korean SLBM is not likely to pose a direct threat to the United States, it will create additional headaches for the U.S. Navy because the service will have to maintain track of Pyongyang’s ballistic missile submarines.

While a resurgent Russian and growing Chinese submarine fleet poses a challenge for the United States Navy, the service’s carriers and naval aviation forces are well prepared to meet the threat.

Some of the latest innovations in undersea technology were on display here Thursday, including an unmanned aerial vehicle that can be launched into the air from a submarine or from unmanned underwater vehicle.