BAE Systems wins $478 million contract with US Navy.

According to a press release published by BAE Systems on October 27, 2021, the firm has been awarded a five-year Systems Engineering and Integration Support Services contract, worth up to $478 million, to continue supporting the U.S. Navy Strategic Systems Programs (SSP) office.
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First Cut of Steel For Columbia-class Program (Picture source: HII)

The SSP oversees the Strategic Weapons System and Attack Weapons System on-board current U.S. Ohio and U.K. Vanguard-class submarines, as well as on future U.S. Columbia and U.K. Dreadnought class submarines.

The U.S. Navy’s Columbia (SSBN-826) class ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) is a program to design and build a class of 12 new SSBNs to replace the Navy’s current force of 14 agings Ohio-class SSBNs. Since 2013, the Navy has consistently identified the Columbia-class program as the U.S. Navy’s top priority program. The U.S. Navy procured the first Columbia-class boat in FY2021 and wants to procure the second boat in the class in FY2024.

The Columbia-class submarine is a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine that will have a length of 171 m, a beam of 13 m, and a displacement of 20,810 tons. The nuclear reactor will be used to generate energy, which will be converted into electrical power to fuel the electric propulsion motor. She will be able to reach an unlimited range due to the use of a nuclear reactor and reach a maximum speed of 20 knots (37 km/h) and operate

The Columbia-class design includes 16 SLBM tubes, as opposed to 24 SLBM tubes (of which 20 are now used for SLBMs) on Ohio-class SSBNs. Although the Columbia-class design has fewer SLBM tubes than the Ohio-class design, it is larger than the Ohio-class design in terms of submerged displacement. The Columbia-class design, like the Ohio-class design before it, will be the largest submarine ever built by the United States.