A class of nuclear tipped cruise missile is planned for development for the U.S. Navy for the first time since the end of the Cold War, with the first prototype expected to be created in the next three years, according to new government documents viewed by Russian state media. The Navy previously deployed nuclear tipped variants of the Tomahawk cruise missile from the 1980s, but retired these shortly after the Cold War ended. The Pentagon has requested that defence industry representatives conduct research to determine whether resources are sufficient for a nuclear cruise missile class, and to assess industry's readiness to move ahead with prototype production.

The new missile class is intended to be ready for deployment by the Navy by 2034, and is planned to be integrated onto the Navy’s Virginia Class attack submarines. It is likely that other attack submarine classes, and potentially the country’s Arleigh Burke and Zumwalt Class destroyers, will also deploy them, with all ship classes using vertical launch systems with high levels of commonality.

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The new missile class is intended to be ready for deployment by the Navy by 2034

(READY BY 2034)