Trident (Science and International Affairs)

While it was still in the development stage, Rear Admiral Albert Kelln predicted that Trident would “Extend the seabased deterrent survivability we currently enjoy into the 21st century.” On the other hand, the Congressional Research Service’s Brief on United States defense industrial preparedness contended that the Trident project appeared “to demonstrate all three categories of symptoms mentioned . . . delay, severe cost overruns, and poor workmanship.” Dalgleish and Schweikart seek to resolve these points of view by an in depth analysis of every aspect of the submarine program, including the political struggles involved in activating the program, the construction process, the vessel itself, improvements in submarine technology that will affect it, and descriptions of its base. They trace the history of the Trident submarine program from its beginning as a part of the “STRAT-X” study of 1967 to the present. Because cost has so frequently been the overriding concern during the Trident’s development, the authors provide a cost comparison of the Trident system to several other systems. They conclude that on balance the Trident system has not been exceedingly costly.