- The US Navy hopes to start fielding its new Columbia-class missile subs over the next decade.
- The Columbia-class program is already facing problems, including delays and cost overruns.
- Those headwinds have the Navy considering extending the lives of its aging Ohio-class subs.
On June 4, the US Navy laid the keel for USS District of Columbia, the first of its new Columbia-class nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarines, at an Electric Boat facility in Quonset Point, Rhode Island.
The high-profile event was attended by both Adm. Daryl Caudle, commander of US Fleet Forces Command, and Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, who said the Columbia class “will be the cornerstone of our strategic deterrence” and “the ultimate guarantor of our national security.”
Lingering over this major milestone, however, are longstanding problems for the Columbia program — unexpected delays and technical difficulties that may limit the Navy’s ability to deliver nuclear and conventional missiles.
Compounding these problems is a recent report from the Government Accountability Office that, in addition to cataloging difficulties in the Columbia program, noted that the program’s overall cost has increased by another $3.4 billion to a projected $112 billion.
With nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarines (classified as SSBNs) carrying 70% of America’s deployed nuclear arsenal, the prospect of delays has led the Navy to consider extending the life of some of its older SSBNs, even though some are close to the end of their own service lives.
The Columbia class
At 560 feet long, 43 feet wide, and displacing 20,810 tons, the Columbia class will be the largest submarines ever built by the US.
In addition to Mk 48 Advanced Capability torpedoes, the subs will carry 16 Trident II D5 submarine-launched ballistic missiles, each of which has a range of over 7,500 miles and can carry up to eight multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles.
The boats will have a service life of 42 years and have a number of upgrades and improvements over their Ohio-class predecessors, including “superior acoustic performance and state-of-the-art sensors to make it the most capable and quiet submarine ever built,” according to the Navy.
One significant improvement is that each Columbia-class boat’s reactor will not ever need to refuel during the planned service life, making the reactors…
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