Congress Tries To Hide A Submarine

Apparently the Navy is up to some shenanigans on how to fund its replacements for the Ohio class missile submarines:

http://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2015/06/congress-tries-to-hide-a-submarine-000069

As a former submariner who earned his gold dolphins on the world's first nuclear submarine, allow me to say this about that:

• These new subs will be an important part of our nuclear "deterrent";
• But they also are a first strike weapon.

It is difficult to determine just how undetectable such platforms are in today's world. Not long ago the US was actively showing the Russians how to detect our submarines underwater. Not a smart idea.

There are 365 submarines in the world, and 72 of them are ours:

http://www.globalfirepower.com/navy-submarines.asp

All the rest are potential enemies. How undetectable and safe from attack can our subs really be?

By the way, each and every nuclear submarine is a huge can of scrap metal filled with tons of radioactive waste which will have to be stored and monitored forever. The true cost of that waste and the radioactive waste generated by the nuclear warheads carried by these missile subs needs to be included in the price tag. That would drive the total to far above $90 billion.