General Dynamics expects to begin construction of new Columbia-class submarine by the end of 2020.

General Dynamics Corp. Chairwoman and CEO Phebe Novakovic said Wednesday, November 6, 2019, that the company expects to begin construction on the U.S. Navy’s new ballistic missile Columbia-class nuclear submarine by the end of 2020.

Artist's rendering of the planned Columbia-class submarine (Picture source Naval Sea Systems Command)

The U.S. Navy is seeking to procure 12 of the proposed nuclear-powered ballistic missile Columbia-class submarines as a replacement for the current fleet of 14 Ohio-class subs, the first of which is expected to reach the end of its service life in 2027. General Dynamics’ Electric Boat Division is expected to build the fleet as part of a joint venture with Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (NYSE: HII) Newport News Shipbuilding.

In May 2019, the Company Huntington Ingalls Industries has hosted a ceremonial first-cut-of-steel event today at its Newport News Shipbuilding division to mark the start of advance construction for the Columbia-class submarine program. The U.S. Navy’s fiscal 2020 budget estimates the total procurement cost of the Columbia-class fleet to be $109 billion.

The Ohio class of nuclear-powered submarines is the sole class of ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) currently in service with the United States Navy. Fourteen of the eighteen boats are SSBNs, which, along with U.S. Air Force strategic bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles, constitute the nuclear-deterrent triad of the U.S.

The Ohio-class submarine displacing 18,750 tons submerged is the third largest submarines in the world, behind the 48,000-ton Typhoon class and 24,000-ton Borei class of the Russian Navy. The Ohio Class submarine is equipped with the Trident strategic ballistic missile from Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space. The Trident was built in two versions, Trident I (C4), which is being phased out, and the larger and longer-range Trident II (D5), which entered service in 1990.

The Ohio Class submarine is fitted with four 533mm torpedo tubes with a mk118 digital torpedo fire control system. The torpedoes are the Gould mk48 torpedoes.

The Columbia-class submarine, formerly known as the Ohio Replacement Submarine and SSBN-X Future Follow-on Submarine, is an upcoming class of nuclear submarines designed to replace the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines in the U.S. Navy.

The Columbia-class submarine is being designed to replace the UGM-133 Trident II–armed Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines, whose remaining boats will be decommissioned, one per year, beginning in 2027. According to Navy sources, this new submarine will have 16 missile launch tubes instead of 24 missile launch tubes on Ohio-class submarines. Missile launch tubes that are the same size as those of the Ohio class, with a diameter of 87 inches (2,200 mm) and a length sufficient to accommodate a D-5 Trident II missile.