In June 2022, a small group of military officers and politicians gathered on Quonset Point, Rhode Island, to kick off construction of the Navy’s newest and largest sub group, the Columbia class submarines, with a keel-laying ceremony for the USS District of Columbia. The upcoming Columbia-class (formerly known as the Ohio Replacement Submarine and SSBN-X Future Follow-on Submarine) nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines of the United States Navy are designed to replace the Ohio class and to maintain a continuous at-sea strategic deterrence as the current force of 14 Ohio Class SSBNs reach the end of their unprecedented 42 year service life in the late 2020s. Columbia Class is the United States Navy’s Number one acquisition priority.

The Columbia Class SSBN program consists of a minimum of 12 submarines to meet the requirements for U.S. strategic deterrent force structure as set forth in the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review. The Columbia Class program completed Acquisition Milestone B on January 4, 2017 and is in the Engineering and Manufacturing Development Phase. Construction of the first vessel began on 1 October 2020.It is scheduled to enter service in 2031. On 3 June 2022, the Navy announced that the lead boat of her class will be named USS District of Columbia (SSBN-826), because there is already an attack submarine named USS Columbia (SSN-771). Nevertheless, the Navy has since continued to refer to the class as the Columbia class. The Columbia class is to replace the Ohio class of ballistic missile submarines, whose remaining boats are to be decommissioned, one per year, beginning in 2028. The Columbia class will take over the role of submarine presence in the United States’ strategic nuclear force. When the sub finally enters service in 2031, it will be the largest and most powerful submarine the U.S. has ever put to sea, measuring 560 feet in length and displacing 20,810 tons. It’s one of 12 subs planned in the new Columbia class. Each will carry 16 onboard nuclear missiles, collectively representing 70 percent of the nuclear weapons that America has ready to use at any one time. But last March, confidential information indicated that the main ship of the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine program could be delayed by a year due to supplier problems. This situation now jeopardizes the Navy’s main procurement program and creates a potential gap in the U.S. strategic nuclear deterrent. Ballistic missile submarines like those in the Columbia class have earned the nickname “boomer” for their powerful punch and massive size. But these subs aren’t the undisputed alphas of the oceans. Attack subs, which are designed to track and hunt boomer subs to prevent them from ever launching their weapons, can sail faster and dive deeper than any boomer, and they’re equipped with an array of weapons built for deep-sea combat. A third type, cruise missile subs (also called guided missile subs), carry out attacks on surface ships and land-based targets from hundreds of miles away. Current plans call for a minimum of 12 Columbia Class SSBNs, with initial construction of the USS Columbia (SSBN 826) beginning in 2021. According to the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Richardson, SSBNs are essential to national security and are ”…foundational to our survival as a nation.” (January 2016). Because these new SSBNs will be in service until 2080, a new ship design that advances critical stealth capabilities and survivability is required. SSBNs carry 70 percent of the U.S. operational nuclear deterrent arsenal and are the most survivable leg of the nuclear triad. The Ohio Class SSBNs begin to reach their end of service life in 2027. Between 2032 and 2040, the United States Navy will only have the minimum SSBN force structure necessary to meet the United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) strategic deterrent requirements. Delivery of the Columbia Class on schedule maintains the minimum force structure necessary to meet USSTRATCOM’s requirements. The existing Ohio Class SSBNs’ service lives have been extended from an initial 30 years to an unprecedented 42 years. There is no margin to further extend the service life of the current SSBNs which will begin to reach their end of service life in 2027.

The Columbia Class SSBN program will provide a credible deterrent at the lowest possible cost. The program is leveraging lessons learned from the currently in production Virginia Class fast attack submarine and existing Ohio Class SSBN.  Procurement cost estimates have already decreased nearly 40% ($50 Billion) since program inception. Flexible acquisition authorizations such as multiyear procurement, continuous production, block buy contracting, and advance multi-class procurement can further reduce costs. Both the Congressional Research Service and Congressional Budget Office has stated that cost savings on the order of 10% could be achieved with additional acquisition authorities. The Columbia Class SSBN is designed with a 42 year service life. The reactor is designed for the boat service life, eliminating the need mid-life reactor refueling overhaul (typically takes 2 years) which saves an estimated $40 Billion over the life of the class. The elimination of the mid-life reactor refueling allows 12 Columbia Class SSBNs to replace the existing 14 Ohio Class SSBNs, reducing overall upfront procurement cost. Despite being approximately the same size, 16 ballistic missile launch tubes on Columbia Class submarine will replace 24 tubes on the Ohio Class – reducing construction, operations, and maintenance costs. The Common Missile Compartment (CMC) represents another cost savings for the Columbia Class. CMC is a joint United States and United Kingdom investment and design collaboration for the each country’s next SSBN class. The current U.S. Ohio Class and U.K. Vanguard Class SSBNs utilize the Trident II strategic weapons system with the D5 submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM). In lieu of developing a new SLBM, both the U.S. Columbia Class and U.K. Dreadnought Class will utilize the current Trident II D5 SLBM. As such, the CMC was developed rather than having each nation design their own missile compartment for their next SSBN classes during the same timeframe. This joint effort is saving each country hundreds of millions of dollars. The CMC design and production must stay on schedule to support the ongoing construction of the U.K.’s new Dreadnought Class SSBN. Both the Columbia and Dreadnought SSBNs will host the upgraded Trident II strategic weapons system with D5 Life Extension SLBMs. The Trident II D5 SLBM life extension program will reduce the risks to both national SSBN programs and eliminated the cost of developing a new SLBM while designing the next generation SSBNs. This ensures the new U.S. Columbia Class and U.K. Dreadnought Class SSBNs will be ready for deterrent patrols with operational missiles. The Columbia Class SSBN is already well into design. Advance construction has started and must be fully supported to prevent a gap in U.S. deterrent capabilities when the Ohio Class SSBNs begin to retire. Even if the future USS District of Columbia (SSBN-826) could deliver in Fiscal Year 2028 instead of its planned FY 2027 delivery, because the overall program is facing additional delays from the steam turbines that Northrop Grumman is under contract to build for the Navy. Under the teaming arrangement for the Columbia program, lead contractor General Dynamics Electric Boat assembles the central barrel of the submarine’s hull at its yard in Groton, Conn., and its manufacturing facility in Quonset Point, R.I. Those modules built in New England are married to bow and stern sections that are constructed at Newport News and sent by barge up to the Columbia assembly hall in Connecticut. But HII has been late in delivering the sections, delaying the timeline for construction. Likewise, the turbines that translate the steam generated by the submarine’s nuclear reactor to mechanical and electrical energy have also hit manufacturing delays, causing blockages in production.

Last March, when asked about the potential delay, a Navy spokeswoman referred from the budget briefing and said more information on the program will be available when the service releases the results of the 45-day review that began in January 2024. Likewise, the turbines that translate the steam generated by the submarine’s nuclear reactor to mechanical and electrical energy have also hit manufacturing delays, causing blockages in production. At least 43 nations currently operate at least one submarine, according to GlobalFirePower.com. And in this modern era when large surface ships are vulnerable to long-range anti-ship missiles, the world’s global powers are doubling down on their undersea efforts. Russia continues to invest heavily in its submarine forces, as the nonprofit security research group Nuclear Threat Initiative indicates, even as other facets of its military atrophy. China’s growing navy recently eclipsed the U.S.’s as the largest combat fleet in the world. And the U.S. Department of Defense predicts that China will begin constructing its newest Type 093B guided missile nuclear attack submarine by the middle of this decade. The latest generation of hunter-killer and cruise missile subs are also armed with advanced weapons that can strike from hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Some U.S. subs will carry an updated version of the Tomahawk cruise missile that can change targets midcourse and loiter over a target area for hours. Some subs, like Russia’s newest Yasen-M class, even carry maneuverable hypersonic anti-ship missiles, like the 3M22 Zircon. With a claimed top speed of Mach 8, it could reach a target at the end of its 621-mile range in just six minutes. And while submarines at the onset of the twentieth century could sink to a mere 75 feet, today’s subs can dive to 1,600 feet or deeper, where not even sunlight can reach them. There, sailing silently through a sea of black, today’s submarines lurk—some carrying weapons with the most destructive power humanity has ever created. But even among these powerful undersea players, several stand out. These warships possess a unique combination of capabilities, firepower, and advanced tech that make them the most dangerous on the planet.

The Columbia program, which recapitalizes the sea-based leg of the U.S. military’s nuclear triad, has a razor-thin schedule margin because each boat needs to replace the submarines in the Ohio class one-for-one. To provide some cushion, the Navy is planning to perform short extensions for up to five Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarines that would stretch each boat’s service life by three years. Starting with USS Alaska (SSBN-732), each boat would undergo an 18-month maintenance availability for the extension. But the service has several years and budget cycles before it needs to make a final decision on the extensions. Under U.S. Strategic Command requirements, the Navy’s submarine force must be able to surge 10 ballistic missile submarines should a nuclear contingency arise. There are currently 14 SSBNs in the Navy’s inventory. Without a service life extension for the Ohio-class boats, the inventory would dip to 13 in FY 2027, then 12 in FY 2029, according to the FY 2024 long-range shipbuilding blueprint. Without the extension, the number would then decrease to 11 in FY 2030 through FY 2032.