U.S. Navy expands Columbia class-fleet ballistic missile submarines program with 2.28 billion award.

The US Navy has awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat a 2.283 billion dollar contract modification to fund advanced procurement and early construction for Columbia class ballistic missile submarine hulls SSBN 828 through SSBN 832. The award locks in long lead materials and yard workload through 2031, supporting the sea-based leg of the US nuclear triad as Ohio-class boats retire.

The Pentagon has confirmed a 2,283,291,317 dollar cost-only contract modification for General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut, covering additional advance procurement and initial construction work on the next five Columbia-class fleet ballistic missile submarines, SSBN 828 to SSBN 832. According to the Navy contract notice, the effort will run through December 2031 and is funded primarily from the fiscal 2026 National Sea-Based Deterrence Fund, underscoring that Columbia remains the service’s top long-term capability priority as the Ohio class approaches retirement.
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The Columbia class is intended to maintain a continuous at sea deterrent posture with a smaller number of hulls, while preserving credible second strike capability under demanding emission control (Picture source: US DoD)

The Columbia class is designed as the direct replacement for the Ohio class, with improved acoustic discretion and life cycle cost. Each submarine carries 16 Trident II D5LE submarine-launched ballistic missiles with a diameter of 87 inches. The UGM 133A designation reflects integration into the US Navy’s strategic strike architecture. This is less than the 24 launch tubes on the Ohio class, but overall payload remains comparable thanks to better missile performance and more flexible warhead planning.

Public plans describe a submarine about 560 feet long, or roughly 171 meters, with a submerged displacement of around 20,800 long tons and a hull diameter of 43 feet. Propulsion is based on an S1B reactor sized to cover a nominal 42-year service life without refuelling, feeding a turboelectric drive coupled to a pump jet propulsor. This arrangement, which decouples turbines and shaft via a main electric motor, reduces mechanical harmonics linked to gears and helps lower acoustic signatures across the speed range.

The combat system includes a suite of modern sensors, with a large aperture bow sonar derived from and enlarged compared to the Large Aperture Bow fitted to the Virginia class, supplemented by flank arrays and towed arrays for wideband passive detection, as well as electronic warfare equipment sized for high-density electromagnetic environments. Columbia-class submarines retain Mk 48 heavyweight torpedoes for self-defence, in addition to the strategic missile segment, which allows them to engage surface and subsurface threats at long range.

The Common Missile Compartment, developed in cooperation with the United Kingdom, adopts a modular architecture based on quad packs and standardises interfaces, production methods, and testing procedures, which supports industrialisation and long-term maintenance. The platform receives a common radio room and modernised optronic masts combining EHF/UHF and SATCOM links for short, low probability of intercept transmissions, which is important to preserve continuity of nuclear command and control under strict electromagnetic emission control (EMCON). The combat architecture follows a federated Shipboard Wideband Fiber Transport System (SWFTS) logic, integrating sonar, optronics and weapons into an open architecture designed to evolve over a forty year service span.

The Columbia class is intended to maintain a continuous at sea deterrent posture with a smaller number of hulls, while preserving credible second strike capability under demanding emission control. The combination of a life of ship reactor, quiet electric drive and streamlined logistics aims to reduce major maintenance periods and maximise time on station in patrol areas in the North Atlantic and the Pacific.

Each submarine is expected to embark around 155 sailors, organised around two crews to preserve availability, with onboard arrangements designed for longer patrols than those of the previous generation. On patrol, the platform uses ambient noise and thermal layers to blend into the underwater environment, keeps considerable freedom of manoeuvre by remaining below background noise levels, and applies a restrictive communications plan so as not to overload the US Navy’s recognised maritime picture and common operational picture, while remaining fully connected to the US strategic command and control architecture.

The industrial structure of the program relies on a now-established pairing. General Dynamics Electric Boat remains the prime contractor, from design to final integration, while Newport News Shipbuilding, a Huntington Ingalls Industries subsidiary, produces major hull sections, takes part in missile compartment integration and contributes to trials.

Below these two top tier actors, several thousand suppliers across more than forty US states deliver propulsion equipment, compartment structures, navigation systems and communication equipment. The new contract modification fits into a series of measures intended to stabilise this industrial base, at a time when the same production capacities are used for both Columbia and Virginia programs and when the Pentagon is reinforcing governance of the submarine segment with a more direct decision chain up to the Deputy Secretary of Defense for very long lead elements.

Ohio-class submarines, commissioned between the mid-1980s and the late 1990s, have seen their service lives extended to 42 years and are now approaching their limits. From the late 2020s through the 2030s, decommissionings will follow one another at a steady pace. Any further delay in the Columbia schedule would risk a temporary gap in the number of fleet ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) available, with direct effects on patrol rotation, crew workload, and maintenance planning.

If USS District of Columbia (SSBN 826) is delivered around fiscal year 2028 and proceeds through trials and operational workup as planned, the Navy can manage the end-of-life transition of the Ohio class without a coverage shortfall. Extending the life of some older units remains a last resort option rather than a structural substitute for fleet renewal.

Beyond industrial and scheduling issues, this new funding package fits into a strategic context marked by the modernisation of Russian and Chinese fleets of ballistic missile submarines. Russia continues to bring Borei A SSBNs into service, while China expands patrols of its Jin class and prepares the next generation. In this environment, Columbia-class submarines form the backbone of the sea-based leg of the US nuclear triad into the 2080s and support the credibility of extended security guarantees within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and towards partners in the Indo-Pacific, from AUKUS arrangements to measures for infrastructure protection and anti-submarine warfare. The continuity of funding, particularly through a dedicated sea-based deterrent fund, will be read by other nuclear-armed states and by third countries as an indication of the level of long-term US commitment in the maritime domain, in a context where strategic stability increasingly depends on the resilience and discretion of submarine platforms.