On June 4, 2022, the official laying ceremony of the new generation of the lead American nuclear missile submarine, called SSBN 826 District of Columbia, was held, and which is being built for the US Navy at the head shipbuilding enterprise of the General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) division of General Dymamics Corporation in Groton (Connecticut). The laying ceremony itself was performed at the GDEB facility in Quonset Point (Rhode Island), where hull sections are manufactured, then delivered to the shipyard in Groton. The laying ceremony was attended by the US Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro.
The ceremony of the official laying of the head of the American nuclear missile submarine of the new generation SSBN 826 District of Columbia at the General Dynamics Electric Boat division of General Dymamics Corporation in Quonset Point (Rhode Island), 04.06.2022 (c) General Dynamics Electric Boat
Although it was announced back in 2016 that the new type of nuclear missile submarine (SSB) would receive the name Columbia, which is traditional for the American Navy, but now an incident has arisen due to the fact that the SSN 771 Columbia type nuclear multipurpose submarine is still in service in the US Navy Los Angeles (which, apparently, was previously planned to be withdrawn from the fleet by the beginning of construction of the new type of lead boat). In this regard, on June 3, 2022, the US Secretary of the Navy assigned the new type of head-mounted "long name" District of Columbia. It should be noted that, in addition to the metropolitan District of Columbia, there are three cities of Columbia in the United States - in the states of Illinois, Missouri and South Carolina.
Recall that on November 5, 2020, the US Navy signed a contract with GDEB in the amount of $ 9.474 billion for the construction and testing of the first two American nuclear missile submarines of the new generation - SSBN 826 (then called simply Columbia) and SSBN 827 Wisconsin. The contract for the construction of these two first boats of the new type is calculated until June 2030.
In total, the US Navy is supposed to put into operation from 2031 to 2042 fiscal years 12 new-generation District of Columbia type [i] submarines to replace the current Ohio-type nuclear missile submarines that form the basis of the American strategic nuclear forces. Withdrawal of boats of the typeOhio from the American fleet is planned from 2029 to 2039. Each type [i]District of Columbia [/i] boat will carry 16 Trident II ballistic missiles.
Earlier, in December 2012, GDEB received a five-year US Navy contract worth $ 1.85 billion for the preliminary design of a promising nuclear missile submarine under the SSBN(X)/ORP program. In September 2017, GDEB received a US Navy contract worth $ 5.1 billion for the development of a full-scale technical project and working design documentation (in American terminology - Integrated Product and Process Development, IPPD) of a new type of SSB.
The construction of the lead submarine, now officially named SSBN 826 District of Columbia, was actually started by GDEB on October 1, 2020. Construction of the second SSBN 827 Wisconsin boat is due to begin in fiscal year 2024. The SSBN 826 District of Columbia lead boat is to be handed over for testing in fiscal year 2030 and delivered to the fleet in fiscal year 2031. Further, it is planned to deliver one boat of this type annually, with the completion of construction of all 12 planned units in the 2042 fiscal year.
The construction of District of Columbia type boats is being carried out by GDEB in a new shipbuilding complex-the South Yard Assembly Building (SYAB) in Groton, which should be finally completed by June 2023 (apparently, due to the unavailability of the complex, the ceremony of the official laying of the lead boat was performed at Quonset Point). In 2024, the docking of the hull blocks of the SSBN 826 District of Columbia lead submarine should begin in the complex, and at the end of 2027, the lead boat should be removed from the boathouse.
The construction of District of Columbia type boats is carried out within the framework of the so-called Submarine Unified Build Strategy developed by the US Navy with the GDEB shipyard in Groton in partnership with Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Corporation. The latter at its shipyard in Newport News must perform at a cost of 25% of the work, including the manufacture of parts of the hull sections, including the bow and stern parts.
With a total underwater displacement of 21140 tons and a hull length of 171 meters, District of Columbia type boats will become the largest submarines built in the USA.
The ceremony of the official laying of the lead American nuclear missile submarine of the new generation SSBN 826 District of Columbia at the General Dynamics Electric Boat division of General Dymamics Corporation in Quonset Point (Rhode Island), 04.06.2022 (c) of the US Navy
Design image of a promising American nuclear submarine missile boat of the District of Columbia type (c) General Dynamics Electric Boat
