On June 18, the American Ministry of Defense announced a new amendment to the contract signed in 2017 for the construction of future nuclear submarines of the Columbia class (SNLE). With a value of $ 987 million, this modification must strengthen the means of the shipyards committed to the construction of these strategic buildings, in particular General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, in Connecticut. This new financing must also indirectly benefit from the program of nuclear attack submarines of the Virginia type.
While the construction of the first nuclear nuclear launcher (SNLE) in the Columbia class, the future USS District of Columbia (SSBN-826), began in 2022, the program receives a financial extension again. The original contract for the first two SNLE of the class (contract No00024-17-C-2117) is indeed benefiting from almost a billion dollars (987 million) which should make it possible to strengthen the American naval construction sector and to accelerate the production rate of future submarines. This must also indirectly benefit from the program of nuclear attack submarines of the Virginia type, but also in aircraft carriers of the Ford type according to the US Department of Defense. This envelope is mainly dedicated to the General Dynamics Boat Boat (GDEB) shipyard located in Groton, which must perceive 70%. This is where the future American SNLE are assembled. The rest of the extension is distributed between the Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) site of Newport News in Virginia (15%), where nuclear attack nuclear submarines of the Virginia type are also built, and quonset point to Rhode Island (15%), another GDEB site which manufactures hull sections. Last May, an important strike movement paralyzed American projects against the backdrop of wage tensions. This is one of the challenges of the American naval, the loyalty of a skilled workforce which is more than necessary to hold the ambitious deadlines that the United States has set themselves, namely the whole renewal of its submarine, with the SNLE of the Columbia type and the SNA of the Virginia type, of which at least twenty copies must still garnish the American fleet.
Twelve Columbia are planned to replace the fourteen SNLE of the Ohio type still used for this mission. Four other Ohio have been modified to take cruise missiles (one of them having been used during recent strikes in Iran). With a length of 171 meters, equivalent to that of their elders, the Columbia will be larger, their displacement in diving before approaching the 21,000 tonnes, against 18,450 for the Ohio. Their strategic armament will however be less important, with 16 trident ballistic missiles, while the current American SNLE are designed to be able to take 24.
The first two Columbia were ordered in 2020, the future USS District of Columbia (SSBN-826) and USS Wisconsin (SSBN-27). The first must be delivered in 2031. The ceremony for the keel installation for the Wisconsin must take place next August. Originally, the 12 units were planned to be in service in 2042, which now appears to be uncertain, unless you can put an SNLE into service per year from the next decade. This program is crucial for the US Navy, but also very expensive. The only construction of the class head is so far estimated at $ 15 billion and the second could be around 10 billion. The cost of acquiring the program should exceed $ 100 billion.
It should be noted that in this additional funding, the United Kingdom participates up to 2%, or 16 million dollars. The American and British SNLE programs share a common design for the compartment and ballistic missile tubes. The two classes, Columbia and Dreadnought, will be equipped with intercontinental trident missiles, with nuclear heads of national manufacturing for the United Kingdom. The latest strategic defense review also highlights the renewal of British nuclear heads.
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