No More Nuclear Tomahawks

The Pentagon intends to retire the Navy’s inventory of aging nuclear-tipped Tomahawk land-attack missile-Navy (TLAM-N), Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday. Speaking to reporters in the Pentagon on the release of the Obama Administrations’ nuclear posture review, Cartwright said the TLAM-N “has really been on the sidelines and not deployed for several years.” But now, he added, “We are going to officially retire that weapon.” He did not provide a timeline for this phase-out. Not does the NPR document itself. Already the Navy and Air Force have announced plans to jointly study a future standoff cruise missile for nuclear deterrence. (For more NPR coverage, see Less Ambiguous.) (NPR full document; caution, large file.) (NPR press briefing transcript, including Cartwright’s comments)