Posted on May 11, 2015
What's the most lethal vessel in the Navy's modern arsenal?
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What is the Navy's most lethal warship in today's fleet? The aircraft carrier? The submarine? Something else? What say you?
Navy
Weapons
Submarines
Posted 10 y ago
Responses: 103
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Undoubtedly, an SSBN with a couple of dozen of Trident D-5 missiles. Civilization would be over if they ever have to be used.
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As much as it pains me to admit, it's the Ohio class SSBN. I'm partial to the CGN newer as well as the older class like the USS Long beach.
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SCPO John Croix
The SSBN has it's supporters but the most lethal is the DDG. The destroyer can handle ASW, AAW, surface to air missiles, anti-ship missiles, surface to surface missiles and she can do shore bombardment, close in troop support, and H&I missions until the cows come home. Not to mention protecting the CV's in every CTG.
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CPO Emmett (Bud) Carpenter
Come on senior chief. You take a DDG and I'll take a carrier and I'll fight you any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
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CMDCM Gene Treants
SCPO Larry Knight Sr. since I was CMC of USS ANZIO (one hull number up from USS Shiloh (CG-67)) I do not remember our NUKE PLANT very well. Seems to me we had something like 4 × General Electric LM2500 gas turbine engines.
I loved my Cruiser and if push came to shove, I would go back to sea or war on her, but head to head - Nimitz Class has us every time in terms of lethality.
I loved my Cruiser and if push came to shove, I would go back to sea or war on her, but head to head - Nimitz Class has us every time in terms of lethality.
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SCPO Larry Knight Sr.
Well if we really want to go into depth now rather then a technical aspect. I'd probably look into a up to date version of the ole "PT" boat loaded with stealth technology and enough weaponry to tackle anything currently on or below the high seas.
I like the idea of the get in hit the sob and move out to the next target before they figure out what knocked the shit out of them.
I wasn't referring to the propulsion plant MCPO Gene Treants, just weapons systems in its arsenal.
I like the idea of the get in hit the sob and move out to the next target before they figure out what knocked the shit out of them.
I wasn't referring to the propulsion plant MCPO Gene Treants, just weapons systems in its arsenal.
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Single most LETHAL? Although I am a surface Sailor, I am also a realist. Ohio Class SSBN carries the most lethal load of weapons ever put on ANY single weapon ever. That is just a fact and undeniable. Once the tubes are empty, however, it is done and the mission is LOST. Our SSBN Mission is deterrent, pure and simple.
Next, most people would say the Aircraft Carrier followed by the AEGIS Cruiser. Both very logical choices and very true in many areas of the world, but this is a new world and a new war. I am traditional and really have a hard time getting out of the box, BUT today we have enemies who are not just in one area or easily found.
NAVY fights in the area of the SEAS, not far inland. Our newest ships are designed for the LITTORALS, the areas near the shores. While not as lethal in overall firepower, this is a ship designed for multiple -missions from maritime security operations, including drug interdiction and anti-piracy, to helicopter support in search and rescue. BUT, there may be even better options over the horizon.
Read it all if you start! it is a page turner! AND yes, out of the BOX!
Next, most people would say the Aircraft Carrier followed by the AEGIS Cruiser. Both very logical choices and very true in many areas of the world, but this is a new world and a new war. I am traditional and really have a hard time getting out of the box, BUT today we have enemies who are not just in one area or easily found.
NAVY fights in the area of the SEAS, not far inland. Our newest ships are designed for the LITTORALS, the areas near the shores. While not as lethal in overall firepower, this is a ship designed for multiple -missions from maritime security operations, including drug interdiction and anti-piracy, to helicopter support in search and rescue. BUT, there may be even better options over the horizon.
Read it all if you start! it is a page turner! AND yes, out of the BOX!
Dear US Navy: The Futuristic X3K Is What Littoral Combat Ships Should Be
The last decade has seen some pretty awesome looking warships hit waters around the globe. On the "blue water" side of things the Star Wars looking Zumwalt Class and the minimalist art-like Lafayette Class were clearly designed with stealth in mind. Yet the "brown water" is where the most exotic vessels roam, and this is precisely where the X3K was born to fight. Unmasking The Columbia River's Mysterious Stealth Boats...
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CMDCM Gene Treants
Sailors belong on ships and ships belong at sea. We usually leave our troubles at the dock. I never had a really great time ashore PO2 (Join to see) unless it was a Liberty Port.
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CPO (Join to see)
FWIW, the SSBN crews are quite well-trained for post-"limited-nuclear-exchange" scenarios. They actually do more tracking exercises and tactical readiness inspections than fast-attack boats, per year, and they almost always "win" their engagements. I've seen an SSBN go up against a carrier group, 2x P-3's and another SSN for three days and come up the winner, with kills scored on the opposing sub, the heavy and several escorts without much difficulty. Granted, not all boats or crews are created equal...
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CMDCM Gene Treants
I have also been on a surface ship that has pinned a target underwater for a few days or more and suddenly received orders to "go away" from on high. That we were tracking a target the was not there and just go somewhere else. Even after we knew who it was and what game we were playing, oh well. BTW CPO (Join to see) diesel boats are still more fun to track.
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I want to say the cruiser and destroyers since that's what I served aboard. But to be honest, it has to be the "silent" Navy. Our subs are tough to find and track.
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LCDR (Join to see)
I agree. A fully "armed" JTAC is by far the most potent conventional weapon "system" we have (yes, technically more than SEALs) but that's for a different argument.
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The American sailor is the most leathal weapon in the American Navy everything else is just a tool
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Which one has the most Marines on it? Whichever one that is is the most lethal. And this from an Army veteran. Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS & GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad , can you help me out here?
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Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS
LHD easily. Wasp class (Wasp, Essex, etc). Holds 2k~ Marines. Essentially an ARG (3 ships) holds an entire MEU (BLT, Squadron+, Log Element, and MEU Command Element). The other two boats have "about" 1 Company each on them.
Marines are powerful in a "Plant the Flag" way. SSBNs are powerful in a "no one will be there when we Plant the Flag" way. They're incomparable assets, because they do two different things.
Marines are powerful in a "Plant the Flag" way. SSBNs are powerful in a "no one will be there when we Plant the Flag" way. They're incomparable assets, because they do two different things.
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CPO (Join to see)
The best marine is a submarine. SSBN = black-glass parking lots, while-u-wait, LOL!
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Submarines, Navy policy sets the submarine program higher then any other surface ship and aviation program out there. The ability to strike with nuclear weapons inside any nations shores is almost impossible to defend against. Other forms of nuclear warfare can be intercepted or defended against with varying degrees of success, but the nuclear submarine being able to strike anywhere from the world can`t be defended against.
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Love to say a surface ship but Ohio class SSBN's - 24 missiles with minimum 10 X megaton warheads per missile. A BIG bang for the buck. MMCS(SW)(SS) USN Ret.
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SSGN packs a lot of extra punch besides the tomahawk armament, enough berthing for a SOTF, dry dock for an ADS and lockout chambers to put them on the beach.
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Well Chaplin, not in the Navy but would have to say the Aircraft Carrier. Reason being 84 ( or how ever many I don't know) F-18's, with all the ordinance that they carry holy crap Batman!
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CPO Emmett (Bud) Carpenter
Twenty-four years of experience in Naval Aviation taught me carriers are a lot harder to find then one would thank. It's a very big ocean and even with satellites there are ways to hide.
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CPO Mike Anderson
We rigged the carrier I was on to look like a merchant at night, a few times during exercises.
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CPO (Join to see)
Don't know how many times an SSBN has sent pictures of people smoking in the hangar bay to the CO of some CVN during an exercise, close enough to read their name tags, LOL! CVN's are awesome, but they look pretty small through a periscope, and they can't take out four countries at a time from anywhere on the planet.
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Once again, demonstrating my bias: I'd say anything that starts with "L" --LPH, LHA, LPD, etc. These "gators" carry Marines. C'mon!
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LCDR (Join to see)
You're right and my bias in neutral working four carrier deployments and a couple SPMAGTFs. Regardless there's no reason to ignore the simple math. Setting aside ALL the air assets, trac barrels, weapons companies and a battalion's worth of crunchies lead absorption units, each big deck can deploy the 12 artie and tank tubes ready to give out some mad love. gives it around 2,000 pounds of heavy ordnance BOOM every minute - sustained. A carrier running cyclic ops has a throughput of AT BEST around 80 F/A-18s a day each for OTH strikes with around 8,000 pounds. That peaks out at just over 400 pounds a minute. Even if we throw SOPs and common sense out the window and loaded for bear against something a few miles from the CVN with zero air-to-air, we're still talking less than 1000 pounds a minute. Take all the stuff into account that I ignored before and there's no argument. Additionally, the CVN doesn't employ CAS control organically whereas the LHs carry over a hundred CAS-able troops ranging from 0369 all the way to the harbingers of death JTACs.
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PO2 Mark Saffell
Well Being a carrier sailor I have to vote an Aircraft Carrier, although the bubble heads will say a sub
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