The USS Mustin (DDG-89) test fires a vertical-launch antisubmarine rocket (VL-ASRoc).

The nuclear genie is out of the bottle. Previously, nuclear weapons–capable militaries were an exclusive club of high-tech and responsible nations. Today, that once level-headed cadre includes a few less stable members, one unpredictable associate (North Korea), and a dangerous aspirant (Iran). More will follow as the technology and material for nuclear weapon production becomes more readily available and easier to produce. Couple that with a newly aggressive (and large) Chinese fleet and a resurgent Russian Navy and suddenly the U.S. Navy has more to worry about than it did during the Cold War. The Navy is finding itself outgunned, but it has been here before.