WASHINGTON, May 29 (UPI) -- The Pentagon is seeking congressional approval of a rapid-response non-nuclear missile tip that can be fired from U.S. submarines.
The variation on existing Trident II missiles would be the only non-nuclear weapon designed for rapid strikes against targets thousands of miles away, and could be used to attack terrorist camps, enemy missile sites and suspected caches of biological, chemical or nuclear weapons, The New York Times reported Monday.
The Pentagon is seeking $127 million in its current spending request to Congress to begin work on what would become a $500 million project over five years.
However, there is some political resistance to the plan, as it could spark a nuclear retaliatory attack, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee said.
"It would be hard to determine if a missile coming out a Trident submarine is conventional or nuclear," Reed told the newspaper.
