A Navy official this week confirmed the service is officially planning to extend up to five Ohio-class nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) starting in 2029 as a hedge against any more Columbia-class delays.
During the annual Naval Submarine League Symposium on Nov. 7, Rear Adm. Scott Pappano, program executive officer for (PEO) for Strategic Submarines, said the Navy has affirmatively decided in its plans and program of record to extend up to five submarines, starting with the USS Alaska (SSBN-732), in fiscal year 2029.
This work will take about 18 months of what is being called a “pre-inactivation restricted availability” to provide another three years of service life for the chosen SSBNs, Pappano said.
This is a change from the same conference last year, when Pappano said the decision would have to be made by fiscal year 2026 so there is enough time to allow for the purchase of long-lead time material, make the commitment to buy such material, and get the facilities ready to maintain extended boats with their weapons (Defense Daily, Nov. 2, 2022).
He reiterated not only will these extensions hedge against any further Columbia-class delays, but he also wants them to buffer against any issues that arise with the combination of 10 new Columbia-class SSBNs and remaining Ohio-class boats in the 2030s.
The Ohio-class submarines had previously undergone a fleet-wide life extension from 30 to 42 years. The oldest of these current SSBNs is expected to reach the end of its service life in 2027.
Pappano said he wants one or two more SSBNs than the base 10 vessels in the 2030s.
Speaking to reporters after his remarks, Pappano said while the five Ohio-class extensions are planned in his 15-year maintenance plan and budgets, a lot of the work falls outside the five-year future years defense program (FYDP) and the Navy can still decide to cancel the extensions any time before the year they start. That means the Alaska work can be canceled up until FY 2029.
“We have the ability to come off that decision at any time, so up until I go do that availability, I could decide not to do it.”
Pappano was unwilling to say which other SSBNs are in contention for extension beyond SSBN-732, because the specific vessels are in “flux.”
The first new SSBN, the future USS District of Columbia (SSBN-826), is expected to be delivered by General Dynamics Electric Boat [GD] by the fall of 2027 so it can be ready for its first deployment in 2031.
The Navy previously tried to push Columbia-class submarine production ahead six months earlier than contracted obligation to add margin, but various issues pushed that back to the contracted delivery date.
In September, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti confirmed SSBN-826 is not on the accelerated schedule but it is still currently meeting the obligation timeline (Defense Daily, Oct. 3).