With the US Navy's submarine fleet carrying about 70% of the deployed US nuclear arsenal, the service's highest priority shipbuilding program is a new fleet of "boomers" to carry them.
In June 2022, the Navy laid the keel for the future District of Columbia, the lead ship of the upcoming class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile subs that will replace the 14 existing Ohio-class submarines.
The Columbia-class submarines will be the largest submarines ever built by the US, measuring 560 feet long and 43 feet wide. The Columbia is designed to carry Mk 48 Advanced Capability torpedoes and 16 Trident II D5 nuclear ballistic missiles. It will also feature "superior acoustic performance and state-of-the-art sensors to make it the most capable and quiet submarine ever built," according to the Navy.
Construction on the first-in-class submarine began in 2021, designed in collaboration between General Dynamics' Electric Boat and HII's Newport News. The stern of the boat was delivered to a facility in Rhode Island in January 2024.
The Navy plans to build 12 Columbia-class boats in a $136 billion contract, with the District of Columbia and future Wisconsin being the only two ordered so far.
However, the Navy's review found that the lead ship's delivery could be pushed back at least 12 to 16 months. The District of Columbia was scheduled to deliver in October 2027, the same year the first Ohio-class submarine, USS Henry M. Jackson, is set to decommission. The delays, brought on by ballooning costs, workforce shortages, and late supply deliveries, could prompt the Navy to keep its aging Ohio-class submarines a while longer.
"A delay of that length would make it more likely for the Navy to implement its backup plan to extend the service lives of up to five Ohio-class by a little bit," Ronald O'Rourke, a naval analyst for the Congressional Research Service, told Bloomberg. "There would be some cost for doing those service life extensions."