Apparently, a number of senior military and civilian government personnel had gathered to watch in real time, on a battlefield monitor, a Navy demonstration then taking place in the Atlantic south of Long Island.
On display, according to Graduate’s source, was a secret anti-aircraft missile developed for the Seawolf class of attack submarines. The Navy planned to use the missile to defend the subs when sailing ahead of the fleet without air cover, especially in shallow water when vulnerable to shore-based defenses.
A second Navy source described for Graduate the missile and swivel-tube concept, taken from a British design and upgraded for use in Seawolf class submarines.
The multi-tube launcher swivels to point the missile in the desired direction before launch. Once out of the tube, the missile is no longer under control of the submarine’s weapons software.
As I understand it, this lack of control, especially in a highly trafficked area like the south shore of Long Island, necessitated a second sub with missile capacity to be used as a backstop.
