WASHINGTON - The sea service's new top boss, Adm. John M. Richardson, is blunt about what he thinks matters most: nuclear punch.

Battling terrorists is today's problem, but Richardson is looking more long-term in his blueprint for a stronger Navy. He wants a Navy built to counter unpredictable future threats from other countries.

No. 1 on his list is a new fleet of nuclear-armed submarines, known as "boomers." They prowl the oceans as the quiet centerpiece of the nation's nuclear force. The Navy plans to replace the current fleet of 14 Ohio-class boomers with 12 next-generation subs. Some subs in the current fleet began service as early as 1981.

Richardson calls this force "foundational to our survival as a nation," in a blueprint released Tuesday,