The timely introduction of the Columbia-class submarine should remain a priority for the Trump administration.
When the USS Kentucky docked in South Korea in 2023, it marked the first time an American submarine armed with nuclear weapons had surfaced near the Korean Peninsula in four decades. The presence of the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine in Bosun was clearly meant to deter further aggression by North Korea. Since the United States is widely considered to possess the most formidable submarine force across the globe, maintaining a strong underwater deterrent is essential to minimizing hostilities particularly, in the South China Sea. While the Navy’s Ohio-class vessels currently serve as the backbone of America’s sea-based nuclear triad leg, the upcoming Columbia-class boats are being developed to feature even greater capabilities. However, timing issues and budgetary constraints have hampered progress on these submarines.
Last month, the Pentagon proposed cutting 8 percent of its annual budget until 2030 with the exception of funds allocated for the U.S. command that focuses on China and seventeen other areas deemed to be a “priority” including drones and submarines. Notably, the Virginia-class submarines were specified by name as a domain that will not be impacted by these budget cuts. While the memo did not mention any plans for the upcoming Columbia-class boats, these nuclear-powered submarines certainly fall under the category of military systems as part of the already underway nuclear modernization process.
What We Know About the Columbia-class Submarines
Newport News Shipbuilding and Electric Boat are jointly tasked with producing the dozen planned Columbia-class submarines, with the former responsible for detail planning and engineering analysis and the latter acting as the prime contractor for the program. Perhaps the greatest feature that will be incorporated on the Columbia boats is its extensive service life. If the Navy opted to simply modify the existing Virginia and Ohio-class designs in order to retain an edge in the modern threat climate, those development processes would have required a pricey mid-life refueling. Instead, each Columbia-class nuclear core is being designed to last as long as the submarine is in service.
Another notable change being incorporated into the upcoming submarine class is the installation of an electric motor to turn the propellers. Previous American submarines are equipped with the typical mechanical system; only two prior U.S. boats use this new propulsion system whereby the steam from the reactor turns generators which supply power to the electric motor instead of using the steam and reduction gears to turn the propeller shaft. In theory, this drive system is much quieter than the traditional mechanical variant. In addition to these design upgrades, the Columbia-class boats are expected to be armed to the teeth. Each submarine in this series will be fitted with sixteen missile tubes for launching sixteen Trident II D5 submarine-launched ballistic missiles. An upgraded D5LE2 ballistic missile will be installed on the ninth Columbia-class submarine onwards. This weapon is a cost-effective addition since the United States and the United Kingdom are sharing the cost of the jointly-made missile.
As geopolitical tensions across the globe are only elevating, the timely introduction of new and improved military assets like the Columbia-class submarine should remain a priority for the Trump administration.
About the Author: Maya Carlin
Maya Carlin, National Security Writer with The National Interest, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin. Carlin has over 1,000 articles published over the last several years on various defense issues.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
