Breaking News: US Navy starts construction of second Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine USS Wisconsin.

On August 27, 2025, General Dynamics Electric Boat held the keel laying of the future USS Wisconsin (SSBN 827) at its Quonset Point facility in Rhode Island, aligning the ceremony with the submarine’s hull number date of 8/27. The keel laying was authenticated when Ship Sponsor Dr. Kelly Geurts welded her initials onto a steel plate, assisted by Electric Boat welder Robert Ray Jr., a 49-year employee of the yard. The event symbolized the formal start of construction for the second Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine, following the lead boat USS District of Columbia (SSBN 826). Multiple watch parties were held in Wisconsin, including at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum and the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center, enabling residents to participate in the milestone despite the construction being located in New England.
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The Columbia-class will be the largest submarine class ever built by the United States, with a length of 171 meters (560 feet), a beam of 13 meters (43 feet), and a submerged displacement of 20,810 long tons, equivalent to roughly 22,000 tons. (Picture source: US DoD)

The USS Wisconsin (SSBN 827) represents the third naval vessel to carry the state’s name, after battleship BB-9, commissioned in 1901 and later used as a training ship during World War I, and battleship BB-64, commissioned in 1944, which served in the Pacific Theater of World War II, the Korean War, and the Gulf War before being decommissioned in 1991 and transferred to museum status in Norfolk, Virginia. At the ceremony, Admiral William Houston described the keel as the backbone from which the vessel grows, noting that while submarines do not have a traditional keel, the authenticated plate would be affixed permanently within the hull as a symbolic point of origin. Speakers emphasized the submarine’s role in the strategic nuclear deterrent, with Admiral Houston stating that the platform will carry more explosive firepower than was delivered in all of World War II. Attendees included shipbuilders, Navy officials, and Wisconsin representatives who underlined the historical connection between the state’s shipbuilding heritage and the Columbia-class program.

The Columbia-class is designed to be the largest submarine class ever built by the United States, with a length of 171 meters (560 feet), a beam of 13 meters (43 feet), and a submerged displacement of 20,810 long tons, equivalent to roughly 22,000 tons as described in public remarks. The Wisconsin will be armed with 16 Trident II D5LE submarine-launched ballistic missiles and Mk 48 heavyweight torpedoes. Its nuclear propulsion system is based on the S1B reactor, designed to last for the submarine’s 42-year service life without requiring mid-life refueling. This approach enables each boat to perform an expected 124 deterrent patrols across its service life while reducing downtime compared to the Ohio-class, which requires refueling. The Columbia-class adopts turbo-electric propulsion, where the reactor powers turbogenerators that feed electricity to a permanent-magnet motor linked to a pump-jet propulsor. This reduces acoustic signatures by removing reduction gears and decreases mechanical complexity. The class also integrates features such as X-shaped stern planes, sail-mounted dive planes, anechoic coatings, and the Submarine Warfare Federated Tactical System that consolidates sonar, imaging, and fire control, including a Large Aperture Bow sonar derived from Virginia-class submarines.

Industrial arrangements for SSBN 827 and the wider Columbia program are centered on modular construction shared between General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding. Fabrication at Quonset Point begins with pressure-hull cylinders, which are outfitted vertically with piping, tanks, and internal systems before being rotated horizontally for deck installation. Completed modules are transported by the barge Holland, measuring 400 by 100 feet, for final assembly in Groton, Connecticut, or delivered to Newport News for integration. Electric Boat performs about 78 percent of the work, while Newport News contributes 22 to 23 percent. More than 3,000 suppliers across the United States, including 300 Wisconsin-based companies, provide materials and systems for the Columbia-class program. Workforce expansion has been central, with approximately 5,000 new hires in recent years and 700 to 1,000 welders trained annually at Electric Boat facilities. Safety and workmanship remain emphasized, with oversight of all welds by inspectors. Collaborative robots have increased productivity by up to 60 percent for cutting, welding, and beveling steel plates, though all robotic welds remain under human supervision. To strengthen industrial output, General Dynamics has invested over $2.2 billion in facility upgrades, including $1.4 billion at Groton and $860 million at Quonset Point, with one advanced manufacturing center dedicated to missile tube construction that supports both the Columbia-class and Virginia Payload Module.

The Columbia program, also known as the Ohio Replacement Program or SSBN-X prior to 2016, is the Navy’s top shipbuilding priority, intended to replace the 14 Ohio-class SSBNs that will begin retiring at a rate of one per year starting in 2027. Congress has identified it as the Department of Defense’s number one acquisition program. Twelve Columbia-class submarines are planned, with procurement spanning fiscal years 2021 to 2035. The program was initially estimated at $109.8 billion for 12 boats, with a projected per-unit cost of $9.15 billion in FY2021, though more recent reports estimate $132 billion in total construction cost. In November 2020, Electric Boat received a $9.47 billion modification covering the lead boat and Wisconsin, including design and engineering. In July 2025, the Navy’s FY2026 budget requested $10.543 billion in procurement plus $1.925 billion in reconciliation funding, covering construction of USS Groton (SSBN 828), cost-to-complete activities for Columbia and Wisconsin, long-lead procurement for later hulls, and industrial base support. Of this, $1.352 billion was directed to the Maritime Industrial Base initiative for supplier and workforce capacity expansion. Christening of the Wisconsin is planned for 2029, with delivery and commissioning in 2031.

The Columbia program has encountered delays, with the GAO noting in 2024 that the lead boat’s delivery shifted from October 2027 to a window between October 2028 and February 2029. Contributing factors included supply chain disruptions, limited foundry capacity for components such as hatches and trunks, workforce readiness issues, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. These delays affect the Wisconsin, originally expected around FY2030, and raise risks given the Navy’s minimum requirement of 10 deployable SSBNs to meet deterrent patrol schedules. The Navy continues to emphasize meeting deployment timelines by training crews earlier and accelerating assignments, though industrial challenges remain. The Wisconsin’s construction, supported by thousands of suppliers and workers, illustrates both the scale of the program and the interdependence of the Navy’s strategic nuclear deterrent on industrial and workforce stability. Watch parties in Wisconsin and commemorations across the state reinforced that the vessel will carry not only a national deterrent role but also state heritage, linking local industrial contributions to global patrols through the Columbia-class program.