"I think the Army should have lots of new missions going forward and sinking ships is one of them," Fanning said. "General Milley [US Army Chief of Staff] and I were just talking about that the other day."
US Pacific Command chief Navy Admiral Harry Harris said this week that the Army should be in the business of sinking ships with land-based surface-to-ship missile systems. The Pentagon earlier in November announced it would upgrade the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) to strike sea targets 186 miles from coastal locations.
The US Navy is generally considered the prime warship and submarine killer fielding more attack submarines outfitted with cutting-edge computing and targeting systems.
The Navy has 40 Los Angeles Class attack submarines in service and is in the process of replacing those with next-generation Virginia Class 'boats'. Twelve of those have been commissioned.
