
Navy officials this week said the service plans to decide by fiscal year 2026 if it will extend the USS Alaska (SSBN-732) as the first of several Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) getting limited life extensions starting in 2029. Given the risks in transitioning from the 14-ship Ohio-class fleet to the 12-ship Columbia-class in the 2030s, the Navy is “evaluating some pre-inactivation, restricted availabilities, or PIRAs, on up to five Ohio-class SSBNs, the first of which would begin with USS…