U.S. Nuclear Weapons Cost Study Project
This project was completed in August 1998 and resulted in the book
Atomic Audit: The Costs and Consequences of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Since 1940 edited by Stephen I. Schwartz. These project pages are only occassionally updated and should be considered historical.
A view from the stern of an Ohio-class Trident submarine showing its open missile hatches.
The Navy currently deploys 20
Trident submarines from Bangor Naval Submarine Base in Washington state, and Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base in Georgia. Each submarine carries 24 missiles, either the Trident I/C-4 or the
Trident II/D-5. Each missile carries on average five nuclear warheads (either the 100 kiloton
W76 or the 475 kiloton
W88), for a total of about 120 warheads per submarine. The Trident submarine costs about $1.9 billion apiece (not including missiles and warheads).
Credit: U.S. Navy (courtesy Natural Resources Defense Council)