[Poohbah]

I believe that the Navy now has an antiaircraft missile that can be launched from the torpedo tubes, so it is usable on existing subs. The subs need antiaircraft capabilities to take out an enemy ASW aircraft that might be hunting them.

OK, some problems with your idea:

First, the range of the missile is going to be extremely limited--if by nothing other than the limits on SENSORS passing through the air/water interface. The only thing you're going to be able to rely on that doesn't involve coming to periscope/mast depth and sticking up the BPS-15 radar set will be passive sonar, listening to the noise of the aircraft on the ocean surface. That signal fades out very quickly as the target gains altitude.

Second, a SUBSAM doesn't NEED to reach up to 13,000 feet to bag an ASW aircraft; most ASW ops are flown at much lower altitude.

Third, the missile can easily generate what is known as a "flaming datum." In other words, if the plane manages to get off a warning that it's under missile attack, that area of ocean is going to suddenly have a LOT of ASW aircraft overhead, and any other ASW assets (ships and subs) will start closing in. A submarine's greatest weapon is its stealth. Once it loses that, it's in BIG trouble, as it has very few weapons available to it.

[zog]

---the militry doesn't have a way to control a missile from another asset overhead? Like, couldn't a missile be launched, then it's targeting be accomplished from a very high flying drone aircraft, or satellite or awacs or surface ship elsewhere's?