Page35 2.Othernuclear-weapon systems atsea 107.Separate fromstrategic nuclear forces, awidevariety ofothernuclear weapons isavailable formaritime use-eitheratseaoragainst coastal targets. Theseweapons include short-range ballistic missiles, cruisemissiles, short-range non-ballistic missiles, bombs.anddepth-charges. Depending ontype,suchweapons canbecarried operationally byaircraft-carriers, battleships, cruisers, destroyers, frigates, submarines, anti-submarine warfare (ASW)aircraft, ASW helicopters, attackaircraft andfighter aircraft. Ithasbeenestimated 121that thereareinexistence some5,900tactical nuclear warheads forusebynavalforces against ships,submarines, aircraft andlandtargets. Annex11describes the functions andcharacteristics ofsomeofthoseweapons. Suchweapons arenow widelyinservice inthenavalforcesofthenuclear-weapon States, although very largely concentrated inthenaviesoftheSoviet UnionandtheUnitedStates. The natureoftheweapons themselves, andcontinued technological advances, oftenmake itimpossible fortheexternal observer totellwhether ornotaparticular ship, submarine oraircraft iscarrying suchweapons and,ifso,thenumberthatmightbe onboard. 3.Sea-launched cruisemissiles 108.Sea-launched cruisemissiles (SLCMs) warrant aparticular mention. TheSoviet Unionhasdeployed shorter-range SLCMs(500kmorless)forseveral yearsfor anti-ship use,butin1984long-range SLCMs(over2,000km)begantoappearin service inthenaviesofboththeUnitedStates andtheSovietUnion. Capable of beinglaunched fromSUbmarines and,inthecaseoftheUnitedStates, fromsurface ships,andcapable ofcarrying eithernuclear orconventional warheads, these weapons represent amajornewaddition tothecapabilities ofthenavies concerned. Ithasbeenannounced thattheUnitedStates SLCMwillhavethree versions ofwhichtwowillhaveconventional warheads andonewillhaveanuclear warhead. Thenuclear version willnumber some758(outofthetotalof almost 4,000)andwillbeforuseagainst landtargets. Ithasalsobeenannounced thatSLCMswillbedeployed inbattleships, cruisers, destroyers andattack submarines. Details ofdeployments intended bytheSoviet Unionarenotknown,but theSovietversion hasbeensaidtobedeployed insubmarines! it,too,hasthe dualcapability ofeithernuclear orconventional warheads. 4.Conventional navalforces 181 109.Thereareverywiderangesinnavalstrengths andeffectiveness. Whilesimple comparison ofnumbers certainly isaprimary indicator ofnavalstrength, thereare manyotherfactors whichhaveanimportant bearing onthecalculation ofaState's navalcapabilities, suchaspolitical andfinancial constraints! theamountof operational seatime;theextentoftraining! thenumberofshipsinrefitor reserve! theageofhulls,propulsion systems orweapons. Thehumanelement is alsoveryimportant, inclUding suchaspects asthequalities ofprofessional naval leadership atvarious levels, theaverage lengthofservice ofthepersonnel, the geographical factors relevant tothenavaltasks,theextentofmaritime interests andtradition etc. I...A/40/535 English Page36 110.Although therearedifferences innomenclature andotherdetails from publication topublication, ingeneral thereisagreement onassessments ofnaval sttength. Table2belowcontains information onaselection ofthelargernavies oftheworld,according toonewidelytecognized source. Itshould benotedthat sizesandcapabilities varywidelywithinshiptypes. Forinstance, aircraft-carriers canvaryinsizefrom13,000to90,000tonswithsignificant vatiations inthenumbera andtypesofaircraft carried. Similarly, the capabilities ofasmalldiesel submarine cannot becompared withthoseofthe advanced typesofnuclear-powered attacksubmarines nowinsetviceinsomenavies. Therearetherefore manydifficulties inasseasing navalcapabilities, and comparisons arehighlyunreliable. Forthesereasons, theinformation thatfollows shouldnotberegarded asabsolute butratherasillustrative andindicative of trends. (a)Largesurface combatants Ill.Forthepurposes ofthisstudy,itisSUfficient toinclude undertheheading oflargesutface combatants allsurface warships offrigate sizeandabove. They maythenbesubdivided intoaircraft-carriers (seeparas.113-116), battleships and cruisers, destroyers andfrigates. Onlyonenavyoperates battleships, thatofthe
**Analysis**
This text appears to be discussing the military capabilities and strengths of various naval forces, specifically the types of nuclear weapons and conventional naval forces, as well as the differences in naval strengths and capabilities between countries. The text also touches on the challenges of comparing naval capabilities and the importance of various factors such as human resources and training. Given the focus on military capabilities and naval forces, it seems likely that the text is related to the field of defense and military strategy.

**Category**
Transport and communication, Science and technology