The Navy’s New Missile Subs Carry a Devastating Nuclear Payload

The U.S. Navy has placed a $9.4 billion order for the first of its next-generation, nuclear-powered, ballistic missile submarines.

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The order covers the cost of the USS Columbia, the lead boat in the Columbia-class submarines (pictured above), as well as early costs for the second boat, the USS Wisconsin. The Columbia class will replace the older Ohio-class submarines in the nuclear triad, with each submarine capable of responding to a surprise attack with a devastating thermonuclear counterstrike.

The order, placed with shipbuilder General Dynamics Electric Boat, puts the Columbia on track for its first nuclear deterrence patrol in 2031. The Navy plans to replace the existing 14 Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines delivered between 1981 and 1997 with 12 Columbia-class boats. The Navy, according to DefenseOne, expects the submarines to last between 40 and 50 years each, the fleet sailing well into the 2080s.

Ohio-class missile submarine USS Henry M. Jackson, September 2015.

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Amanda R. Gray/DVIDS

Each Columbia will be armed with up to 16 Trident D-5 submarine launched ballistic missiles. The Trident D-5 is a solid rocket fuel missile with a range of 4,600 miles, and it’s capable of carrying up to 14 W-76-1 thermonuclear warheads, each with a destructive power six times greater than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The Trident D-5s that go to sea on today’s Ohio-class submarines pack between four and five W-76-1 warheads or a single new, 5-kiloton, low-yield W-76-2 warhead.

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Assuming every Columbia carries 14 D-5s armed with five of the larger yield warheads and two D-5s with the smaller yield warheads, a single boat might carry over six megatons of nuclear firepower—the equivalent of 6,310,000 tons of TNT.

Here’s the USS West Virginia launching a Trident D-5 missile:

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Submarines equipped with the Trident D-5 represent the sea-based leg of America’s nuclear triad. The triad consists of 76 B-52H Stratofortress and 20 B-2 Spirit manned bombers, 400 silo-based Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles, and 14 Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines. All three “legs” of the triad have distinct advantages and disadvantages and work to complement one another.

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The main advantage of the sea-based deterrent is the ability to hide nuclear missile submarines in the oceans of the world, each capable of devastating the enemy’s homeland in the event of a surprise attack. A single submarine has the ability to rain nuclear destruction down on scores of enemy targets. In theory, this assured destruction of the enemy in wartime deters potential adversaries from even contemplating a nuclear attack on the U.S.

USS Indiana, a Virginia-class attack submarine.

NurPhotoGetty Images

The 12 Columbia boats will be split up between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, sailing on weeks-long deterrence patrols from bases in Washington and Florida. Every ballistic missile submarine is assigned two crews, dubbed the “gold” and “blue” crews, each taking turns manning patrols to maximize their time at sea.

Technology from the Columbia class will also go into the Navy’s next-generation attack submarines. According to U.S. Naval Institute News, the SSN(X) class submarines will be as wide as the Columbias: 42 feet wide, compared to the 36-foot width of the current Virginia class. The extra room could be used to carry more weapons or make a quieter submarine.

USNI News quotes Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday as wanting both firepower and speed from SSN(X), and that the new submarine would be the linchpin of the future fleet.

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