Columbia-class submarine

Graphic artist concept (2012)
Class overview
Preceded by:	Ohio-class submarine
Planned:	12
General characteristics
Type:	Ballistic missile submarine (SSBN)
Displacement:	20,810 long tons (submerged)
Length:	561 feet (171 m)
Beam:	43 feet (13 m)
Propulsion:	Nuclear reactor, turbo-electric drive, pump-jet
Range:	Unlimited
Complement:	155 (accommodation)
Sensors and processing systems:	Enlarged version of Virginia LAB sonar
Armament:	16 × Trident D5

The Columbia-class submarine, formerly known as the Ohio Replacement Submarine and SSBN-X Future Follow-on Submarine, is a future United States Navy nuclear submarine class designed to replace the Trident missile-armed Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines. The first submarine is scheduled to begin construction in 2021 and enter service in 2031 (some 50 years after its immediate predecessor, the Ohio class, entered service). From there, the submarine class will serve through 2085.

The Columbia-class submarine is being designed to replace the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines. The Ohio class of submarines are aging and the first boat in that class is scheduled to be decommissioned in 2027 with the remaining scheduled to be decommissioned yearly following the first boat’s decommissioning. The Columbia-class's role in the fleet will be to replace the decommissioned Ohio submarines and maintain the submarine presence in the United States’ strategic nuclear force.

Electric Boat is designing the Ohio replacement submarines with assistance from Newport News Shipbuilding. A total of 12 boats are planned to be built, with construction of the first boat planned to begin in 2021. Each submarine will have 16 missile tubes and each tube will be capable of carrying a Trident II D5LE missile. The submarines will be 560 feet long and 43 feet in diameter. That is the same length as the Ohio-class submarine design, and one foot larger in diameter.

In order to determine the number of submarines required to support the United States’ strategic nuclear force, the United States Navy conducted a number of studies. Those studies looked at the number of missiles required to be at sea and on station at any given time, the number of missiles each boat should be armed with, the likelihood that a boat will remain undiscovered by the enemy and be capable of launching its missiles, and how the maintenance schedule of each boat will impact that boat’s availability to be deployed on mission. A number of cost-reduction studies were also conducted that explored multiple design and construction possibilities. The cost-reduction studies explored the possibility of adding missile tubes to the design of the Virginia-class of fast-attack submarine, the possibility of building Ohio- class replacement submarines using updated Ohio-class designs, as well as developing an entirely new Ohio replacement boat design.