The strategic nuclear submarine is officially named the "Columbia" class
News from the U.S. Institute of Naval Research revealed that the first U.S. next-generation ballistic missile nuclear submarine has been officially named the "Columbia" and it will carry Long-range nuclear warheads cruise around the world and have secondary nuclear strike capabilities, aiming to deter/deter enemies from launching surprise attacks. There have been eight "Columbia" ships in the history of the U.S. Navy, ranging from old-fashioned artillery frigates to active "Los Angeles" class attack nuclear submarines.
The name of the previous "Columbia" came from the state of Columbia, and the new "Columbia" was named in honor of the District of Columbia.
Ballistic missile nuclear submarines, long-range bombers and land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles together constitute the "trinity" nuclear strike force of the United States on land, sea and air. Different from long-range bombers and land-based missiles, nuclear submarines are a greater deterrent to war initiators. Once the war escalates to a nuclear war, the underwater stealth of nuclear submarines will effectively hide the nuclear missile counterattack site and ensure the optimal location. Launch a devastating blow to the enemy's effective forces.
Therefore, a retaliatory strategic strike by a ballistic missile submarine is more likely to prevent a war than other weapons.
The U.S. Navy's "Ohio" class ballistic missile nuclear submarines were built in the 1980s and 1990s and have reached the end of their service life. The Columbia class will replace the Ohio class starting in 2031. The newly built 12 "Columbia" class will replace the 14 "Ohio" class nuclear submarines. The U.S. Navy claims that more efficient nuclear reactors that do not require refueling will enable the 12 new nuclear submarines to undertake the work performed by the 14 old nuclear submarines in the past, effectively reducing the total operating costs of the U.S. strategic nuclear submarine force.
Although the construction details of the "Columbia" class strategic nuclear submarine are still being further designed and improved, part of the design has been finalized. Each submarine is 171 meters long and equipped with 16 missile launchers, which means that the new generation of U.S. strategic nuclear submarine forces have a total of 192 Trident II D5 submarine-launched intercontinental missiles. The new generation submarine is expected to have a service life of about 42 years and is expected to be in service after 2080.