to four reconfigurable mission tubes 30 reconfigurable mission tubes are capable of being outfitted for specific missions including strike warfare tomahawk missiles mine laying gravity dropped mines 31 or special operations equipment storage diver lock out the mines may be launched by gravity releasing them from their cartridges and dropping them through a bottom hatch opening in the mission tube not shown typically the mission tubes remain dry before deploying weapons and after the weapons are launched they are flooded with sea water thereby minimizing variable ballast tank requirements each of the mission tubes has a hatch 34 to provide access from the tunnel in the wasp waist section 22 to the mission tube the mission tubes may also contain other special warfare equipment a dry storage tube can be used to store equipment which requires careful handling such as ordinance small arms and weapons with solid propellant motors the mission tube may also be provided with a hyperbaric chamber for accommodating human divers a wet storage tube suitably pressurized for diver occupancy permits diver access for servicing of equipment before and after use equipment may be placed in the upper end of the tube which is drained and equalized with the ship 39 s ambient pressure after bottom hatch closure for easy servicing in addition the wasp waist section 22 is arranged to accommodate external weapons modules 36 these modules may include an external weapons clip from which stored weapons may be launched the modules 36 shown in fig3 may contain torpedoes missiles or the like and may be extendable to facilitate launching such modules are described in more detail.