“The quotes (in the memo) suggest admirals are happy with the capacity LCS brings, which make sense since the Navy now has no ocean-going small combatants other than LCS, and precious few of those,” said Bryan Clark, a retired Navy commander now with the Center for Strategic & Budgetary assessments. 

“It is unclear whether a high atmospheric nuclear explosion would cause a significant EMP effect at lower altitudes and whether North Korea could execute such an attack without also affecting their own capabilities.”

Bryan Clark, a former U.S. Navy submarine officer and now an analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, has his doubts about the concept

Bryan Clark, a senior fellow for the Washington think tank Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments and former submarine officer, said it is difficult to say how long the missing sub crew might be able to hold out. Diesel-electric submarines like the San Juan, unlike nuclear submarines, need to regularly surface to recharge their electrical systems and do not have the same level of operational endurance as nuclear submarines.

What madman would propose adding diesel submarines to the U.S. Navy’s all-nuclear silent service?

There are a few. The topic came up at an early March hearing before the U.S. House Seapower and Force Projection Subcommittee. Representatives from three teams that have compiled competing “Future Fleet Architecture” studies convened to debate their visions with the committee. Published by the Navy Staff itself, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, and the MITRE Corporation, the studies explore everything from overall ship numbers to the types of hulls comprising the future fleet to the mix between manned and unmanned platforms.

Buying smaller, relatively cheap new frigates and extending the life of current ships offers the best path to a larger fleet, said Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments and former special assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations.

“If Russia or China or North Korea want to start a fight, putting a defenseless ship like an old Perry-class in there certainly won’t deter them,” Clark said. Having the latest vessels on the front lines with global rivals isn’t just a matter of defense, Clark added, it also deters them.