The
U.S. Navy's first land-attack cruise missile submarines (4 SSG and 1 SSGN) deployed with the
Regulus missile from 1958 until they were retired in 1964 with the arrival of the
Polaris ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) in the Pacific. The US deployed the short-range
Harpoon anti-ship missile on submarines beginning in 1981. The
Soviet Navy converted 13
Whiskey-class submarines (Project 613) for the land-attack cruise missile (LACM) role in the late 1950s (Whiskey Single Cylinder, Whiskey Twin Cylinder, Whiskey Long Bin), armed with the
SS-N-3 Shaddock (П-5) missile. As Soviet SSBNs armed with
submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) became available in the late 1960s, the Shaddock LACM was withdrawn and an
anti-ship (ASCM) version replaced it. The
Echo- and
Juliett-class submarines of the 1960s had a similar armament history, with the Echo I's converted to attack submarines because they could not accommodate an anti-ship guidance radar. The SS-N-3 ASCM was eventually replaced with the
SS-N-12 (P-500). Later, the
Charlie- and
Oscar-classes were designed to use long-range ASCMs, the
SS-N-9 (P-120) and
SS-N-19 (P-700) respectively. Only the Oscar-class remains in service. In 1990, it was reported that the Soviet Navy had deployed between 50 and 300 SLCMs. The current
Akula- and
Severodvinsk-class submarines are armed with the
SS-N-21 (S-10) LACM. Four U.S. Navy
Ohio-class SSBNs were converted in the mid-2000s to be able to salvo launch up to 144
Tomahawk cruise missiles from their modified vertical launch SLBM tubes, as opposed to launching cruise missiles from torpedo tubes as is done from
attack submarines. The advantage that the submarines have over
guided-missile destroyers and
cruisers is the ability to remain undetected and launch while submerged. Tomahawk was deployed on US Navy attack submarines beginning in 1983, originally in LACM and ASCM versions, but the ASCM version was withdrawn in the 1990s. The USSR's
S-10 Granat subsonic cruise missiles designed by the
NPO Novator may still be in service in Russia, albeit not deployed. In October 2015, Russia launched long-range
Kalibr (Klub) cruise missiles from its small ships in the Caspian Sea on targets in Syria; in December, several 3M14K cruise missiles from Kalibr-PL system were fired from the
improved Kilo-class submarine B-237
Rostov-on-Don in the Mediterranean. The deployment of Kalibr missiles, long-range, low-flying, capable of carrying conventional or nuclear warheads, available in land-attack, anti-ship and anti-submarine variants, was said to have altered the military balance in Europe and potentially compromised the
NATO missile defence system under construction in Europe.
Jane's Defence Weekly reports that the
Dolphin-class submarines are believed to be
nuclear armed, offering Israel a sea-based,
second strike capability. In adherence to
Missile Technology Control Regime rules the US Clinton administration refused an Israeli request in 2000 to purchase
Tomahawk long range SLCMs. The
Federation of American Scientists and GlobalSecurity.org report that the four larger torpedo tubes are capable of launching Israeli built nuclear-armed
Popeye Turbo cruise missiles , a
Los Angeles-class submarine with the doors of the
vertical launching system for
Tomahawk missiles in the open position. The method of firing from VLS is in the minority. ==List of SLCMs==