The Special Weapons Safety and Surety Program applies engineering and scientific principles to operational issues involving the nation’s strategic deterrent systems. The Special Weapons Safety and Surety Program attempts to understand all cultural, historical, and political considerations and make recommendations that are technically correct while still factoring in the other issues.

The Program provides the Director, Navy Strategic Systems Programs, with evaluations of safety, surety, and operational issues as they relate to the continued effective employment of the strategic submarine forces. As pressure to reduce operation and maintenance funds becomes more intense, there is an increased need to assure that the impact of those reductions are addressed so that any impact on safety, security, or operational readiness are understood and that any effect on the continued role of submarine launched missiles is considered. In particular, the effort provides evaluations of these issues and how they impact the effectiveness of SSBNs/SLBMs/SSGNs in various deployed operational modes throughout their lifetime.

The Program provides direct support to Strategic Systems Programs at each of the Operational Safety Reviews, which are three-week-long evaluations of all facets of each nuclear weapons system and which take place every five years. With three systems currently operational (Trident I, Trident II, and the nuclear variant of Tomahawk), these safety studies and the preparations for them occupy significant time for three of every five years.