Submarines: Columbia Class

[Pelican]

First Columbia Ballistic Missile Submarine Begins to Take Shape


NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. – The backbone of the Navy’s next nuclear ballistic missile submarine is starting to take shape in a series of understated white buildings on the edge of Narragansett Bay.

Building-sized sections of the future USS Columbia (SSBN-826) have been under construction at the General Dynamics Electric Boat facility at Quonset Point, under cover from the Rhode Island winter and largely unseen due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

EB’s sub construction yard – split between its more than 100-year-old yard in Groton, Conn., and the newer facilities on the site of an old U.S. Navy air station that’s turned into an industrial park – is finalizing an almost $2 billion expansion of its yards to build the dozen boat Columbia-class to replace the aging class of Ohio SSBNs, as well as building the larger Virginia Payload Modules for the Block V Virginia-class attack submarines.

Last week, USNI News toured the Quonset Point facility and EB’s yard in Groton, where the first pieces of Columbia have been under construction since 2020.

While carrying eight fewer nuclear missiles than its predecessor, Columbia will be longer, heavier and feature a complex electric drive propulsion system and associated technology to keep the class relevant for the 50-year lifespan of the boomer.

“Columbia is a 20,000-ton submarine. It’s the largest, most complex submarine that’s ever been built,” Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday told USNI News in an interview en route to the construction facility.

The $110 billion Columbia program and the VPM addition are refining techniques EB developed for the construction of the early Virginia-class submarines to maximize the efficiency of assembling the complex hulls under the pressure of a timeline with razor-thin margins.

The schedules of the Navy’s fleet of 12 Ohio-class boomers are meticulously planned out years in advance to ensure there’s always a set number of SSBNs underway to serve as a strategic nuclear deterrent. Columbia is set to enter the rotation in 2031.

“You’ve heard us say a million times that there’s no margin with Columbia. It’s really no joke,” Gilday said. “We really have to get that boat out on time.”

EB is at once increasing its yard and workforce size to tackle Columbia and the more complex Block V Virginia-class attack submarine program while digging out of a backlog of work from the Block IV program that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.There was a two-year gap between delivery of USS Vermont (SSN-792) on April 17, 2020 to the future USS Oregon (SSN-793), which delivered on Feb. 26.

Yard leaders told USNI News they are optimistic they can both dig out of the backlog on Block IV and ramp-up to build the Columbia subs and more complex Block V VPM sections.

“We’re going to continue to be challenged from a schedule and performance perspective, especially coming off COVID. I think that will be a challenge for the foreseeable future,” EB president Kevin Graney told USNI News last week. “But I think we’ve got a good plan and I’m pleased with the way the workforce proficiency is developing.”

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[Pelican]

Columbia-class – $5 Billion Each, The Most Dangerous Sea Monsters

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[Pelican]

The new Columbia class boat will eventually replace the current Ohio class boats


Currently a new class of Ballistic Missile Submarines (SSBNs), known as Columbia class, is being developed in the United States. Research and development has been underway for several years. It is one of the most important US Navy’s procurement programmes. These next-generation submarines will eventually replace the current Ohio class boats.

The Ohio class boats were commissioned with the US Navy throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Currently the US Navy has 14 active Ohio class ballistic missile submarines, plus another 4 Ohio class boats were converted to carry Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles. Most of them are currently 30 years old or even older. The first Ohio class boat will reach the end of its service life in 2031.

It is scheduled that construction of the lead Columbia clas boat will begin in 2021. It is planned that a total of 12 Columbia class boats will be built. It is planned that the first boat will be commissioned and begin its deterent patrol in 2031. An average price per boat is planned to be $4.9 billion. These new boats will allow to maintain US most survivable strategic deterrent.

It is planned that the new boats will be slightly larger than the current Ohio class boats. The Columbia class boats will use some technologies from US Virginia class nuclear-powered attack submarines. The Columbia class boats will be fitted with 16 launch tubes for Trident II ballistic missiles in their upgraded form. Though the number of missiles was reduced, as current Ohio class boats can carry 24 Trident II ballistic missiles each. New-generation British Dreadnought class ballistic missile submarines will use the same launch tubes and ballistic missiles as the Columbia class boats.

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