Posted on 07/07/2010 7:57:25 PM PDT by Pan_Yan
The U.S. nuclear-powered submarine Michigan docked at a South Korean naval base in Busan from the end of June until last Friday. According to South Korean military sources on Wednesday, the Michigan, armed with 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of 1,600 km, docked in Busan for a week to get fresh supplies and allow its crew a rest following exercises in waters off the Korean Peninsula.
In an unprecedented move, the U.S. Navy posted a photograph of the docked submarine on its website. Hong Kong's South China Morning Post on Sunday said the nuclear-powered submarines Michigan, Ohio and Florida surfaced in Busan, Subic Bay in the Philippines and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean around the same time. This was not the first time that a nuclear-powered American submarine docked in Busan, but it is rare for the U.S. military to reveal photographs.
Military experts say it was a show of force by the U.S. against China following North Korea's sinking of the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan. The USS Michigan is a formidable weapon that is more than capable of grabbing the attention of Beijing officials, measuring 170 m in length, 12.8 m in width and with a full displacement capacity of 18,750 tons. It was originally built to carry 24 Trident submarine-launched ballistic missiles, but was refitted years ago at a cost of US$400 million to carry Tomahawk cruise missiles following the end of the Cold War, disarmament talks between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union and an increase in anti-terrorist maneuvers. The Tomahawk cruise missile is capable of accuracy on targets up to 1,609 km away and can shift trajectories in flight. Another weapon in the Michigan's arsenal are special forces troops. The submarine is capable of transporting 66 Navy SEALs.
The sub can also carry South Korean special forces troops for infiltration operations into North Korea in the event that a regime collapse in the North heightens the chances of nuclear weapons and missile theft or a full-blown war. The submarine apparently took part in joint military exercises with South Korea in the past carrying the South's special forces units.
Pilot boats guide the U.S. nuclear-powered submarine Michigan to Busan on June 28. /Courtesy of the website of the U.S. Navy
Use it.
It’s a sign of weakness to be doing this.
i don’t understand..if we wanted to show them force, we should have dropped a few nukes on them to let the get a taste of American muscle!:P
This boat is a converted Ohio Class ballistic missile sub. It now carries clusters of Tomahawks instead of Tridents. The hump on the back of the USS Michigan is a dry dock shelter for SEALs to exit and enter without the boat ever surfacing.
So the Michigan is an Ohio class Sub but converted to carry/launch Tomahawk cruise missiles?
Like a baby with a big d*ck.
dictators always do crap like this. Its kinda like a missle parade.
Agreed, they should rather be out there, sliding a few fish into some Norkie boats, and silently slipping away, no one the wiser.
Man, you guys are fast. I’ll have to learn to use more than my thumbs to type.
Navy started to make plans to convert SSBNs at the end of the cold war. Gave them a new mission and a heck of a punch. There are now four SSGNs in service.
I also like the unmistakable asian islands in the back ground that say “We’re here lil Kim”
how much longer before KJI says “all your base are belong to us”
EXACTLY! It's grade school stuff. If anything, it encourages the Norks who are doing their own juvenile delinquent act. They're trying to get a rise out of us and sure enough, we oblige and simply encourage more of the same.
You would have really liked the USS James K. Polk then. Back in the 90s the Navy designated it a fast attack, but we called a "slow approach" instead. It had two drydock shelters on it and could carry multiple teams of SEALs. Decommisioned in 1999.
Please God, not on Obama’s watch!
THe only Chinese attention gotten is the fact that Obama hasn’t got the balls to use the subs, or anything for that matter.
THey know we have the “Coward in Chief” in the White House so they are safe on their march to world dominance.
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