In the late 50s and early 60s, in response to the UK and French nuclear programs, the US government floated a plan to build a joint NATO nuclear-armed navy, consisting of 25 ships carrying 8 Polaris ballistic missiles each. It would have been called the NATO Multilateral Force (MLF).
There were several versions of how this would work. The US' preferred version seems to have been merchant freighters with missile launchers concealed in the holds, although SSBNs and surface warships were also considered. The ships would be paid for primarily by the US (40%), Germany (40%), Italy (10% to 20%), and UK (10% if they participated); they would have multinational crews, and the missiles would be under dual-key control, requiring concurrence among all the partners for a launch. This wasn't the only scheme of this sort floating around - joint manning was also considered for ICEWORM, for example. MLF got to the point of a trial multinational crew on a USN destroyer, which apparently worked quite well, and modifying an Italian cruiser to carry four Polaris missiles.
Sources: Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, wikipedia.
This obviously didn't happen. But what if it had? What would it take to see a NATO multilateral navy, and what would the consequences be if there was one?
There were several versions of how this would work. The US' preferred version seems to have been merchant freighters with missile launchers concealed in the holds, although SSBNs and surface warships were also considered. The ships would be paid for primarily by the US (40%), Germany (40%), Italy (10% to 20%), and UK (10% if they participated); they would have multinational crews, and the missiles would be under dual-key control, requiring concurrence among all the partners for a launch. This wasn't the only scheme of this sort floating around - joint manning was also considered for ICEWORM, for example. MLF got to the point of a trial multinational crew on a USN destroyer, which apparently worked quite well, and modifying an Italian cruiser to carry four Polaris missiles.
Sources: Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, wikipedia.
This obviously didn't happen. But what if it had? What would it take to see a NATO multilateral navy, and what would the consequences be if there was one?
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