Nuclear-Armed Sea-Launched Cruise Missile

Supporters argue the missile would increase nuclear deterrence and assurance to allies, while critics argue it would lower the threshold and increase the risk of misunderstandings leading to nuclear war with Russia or China, and exacerbate a second nuclear arms race.

• Name — Nuclear-Armed Sea-Launched Cruise Missile (SLCM-N) • Type — Submarine-launched cruise missile/surface-combatant-launched • Is Ranged — Yes • Is Explosive — Yes • Is Vehicle — Yes • Is Missile — Yes • Used By — United States Navy • Design Date — In development since 2018 • Manufacturer — Leidos, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Florida Turbine Technologies • Production Date — Initial operating capability targeted for 2034 • Filling — W80 Mod 5 thermonuclear weapon • Engine — Solid propellant first stage, turbofan second stage (speculated) • Vehicle Range — 2,000 to 2,500 km (speculated) • Launch Platform — * Virginia-class submarine Trump-class battleship • Illustration — The Trump-class battleship proposal, one of the proposed launch platforms for the SLCM-N.

In 2022 the Biden administration requested funding for the National Nuclear Security Administration to study adapting the W80-4 for the SLCM-N. The W80-4 is intended for the AGM-181 LRSO nuclear cruise missile, to be launched by B-52 Stratofortress and B-21 Raider strategic bombers. In January 2026, Sandia National Laboratories announced the SLCM-N would use the new W80-5 variant. The SLCM-N was one of the nuclear weapons projects advocated for by the conservative political program Project 2025. In December 2025, the second Trump Administration announced the Trump-class battleship and "Golden Fleet" project, for which the renamed "Surface Launch Cruise Missile-Nuclear" was listed as an armament. The United States previously operated the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile – Nuclear (TLAM-N) between the mid-1980s and 1992, a Tomahawk missile variant armed with a W80 warhead, deployed on surface ships and submarines. Withdrawn from all ships in 1992, the Navy retained the ability to deploy them on Los Angeles and Virginia-class submarines prior to their retirement in 2013, following the 2010 Nuclear Posture Review judging them as "redundant". The Biden administration in the 2022 Nuclear Posture Review recommended against funding the SLCM-N, as it provided marginal benefit considering the W76-2 low-yield (~six kilotons of TNT) warhead being deployed with UGM-133 Trident II submarine-launched ballistic missiles.