The Navy's last hopes have finally arrived, and the United States is allocating funds to build the first Columbia-class nuclear submarine at a cost of $8.5 billion. The U.S. Navy wants to allocate funds to build 12 Columbia-class nuclear submarines, and complete construction works in 2031. At the same time, nuclear missiles are to be replaced.
12 Columbia-class nuclear submarines and a brand new nuclear submarine with 16 trident II intercontinental ballistic missiles with separable nuclear warheads. It will replace 14 Ohio-class nuclear submarines, which can each be equipped with 20 Trident II ICBMs. In this way, the U.S. Navy needs to order 12 new nuclear submarines and 192 new submarine-launched nuclear intercontinental missiles, and eliminate and dismantle 14 old nuclear submarines and 280 old nuclear missiles.
The U.S. Navy's spending on this will be $109.8 billion for submarines, the multi-warhead Trident 2 submarine-launched intercontinental missile nuclear missile, which is currently the most deterrent sea-based submarine-launched missile in the world, which can carry 8-10 sub-guided nuclear warheads and have a range of 12,000 kilometers. One costs about $200 million, and it costs another $40 billion to reload at least 192 missiles.
However, despite its high cost, the Columbia-class nuclear submarine program is the U.S. military's first priority, even surpassing the aircraft carrier and the F-35 stealth fighter. The Columbia-class nuclear submarines are 170 meters long and have a displacement of 20,000 tons. Equipped with a new generation of information-based shipboard combat command and control and fire control systems and a new type of intelligent unmanned underwater vehicle. With a pump-jet propulsion system and an X-shaped stern rudder, the degree of silence and automation is further improved on the basis of the already advanced Ohio class.
In the US military strategy, strategic nuclear submarines are the most important combat platform. First of all, if a nuclear war breaks out, then land-based intercontinental missiles and strategic bomber airfields are likely to be detonated by the other side at the first time, and it is impossible to counterattack in real time at the first time. Nuclear submarines, on the other hand, are undersea activities, are not easy to detect, can be deployed globally, and can be used for nuclear counterattacks at any time.
At the same time, trident II missiles have the ability to carry out the first wave of attacks and high-precision strikes against hard targets, the accuracy of intercontinental strikes with a range of tens of thousands of kilometers at 90 meters, and the ability to strike at the opponent's reinforced land-based intercontinental missile silos and reinforced underground strategic commands.
In conventional warfare, strategic nuclear submarines equipped with hypersonic missiles and cruise missiles can also be the first commandos. Today, with the great development of ballistic missiles and hypersonic missiles, the threat facing aircraft carriers is becoming more and more serious. Therefore, the nuclear submarine hidden under the water first carried out a pre-emptive missile assault on the opponent's missile position, which became a strategic option of the US military.
At present, the US military will first replace the ground strike mission of the aircraft carrier with nuclear submarines. Now not only Columbia-class nuclear submarines, but also Virginia-class nuclear submarines, Ohio-class nuclear submarines will be equipped with hypersonic missiles in the future. The U.S. Navy will form the capability of nuclear submarines to launch hypersonic missiles starting in 2028. Each module carries 28 missiles, plus missiles launched from torpedo tubes, and the whole boat can carry 40 missiles.
Then, the US nuclear submarine group will be able to launch a large number of hypersonic missiles at the target for ground strikes thousands of kilometers around the seabed around the target. The main targets are anti-ship missile positions, communication centers, airfields and other targets. To cover the aircraft carrier into the war zone, take off F-35 stealth fighter jets for air assault. So that grand strategy won't be changed just because a $5 billion to $6 billion Seawolf-class nuclear submarine crashed on the ocean floor.
Defense News said the U.S. Navy's hypersonic weapons fly at more than Mach 5, putting most of the world's targets at risk within minutes. The U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force will use general-purpose hypersonic missiles, while the U.S. Air Force will develop air-launched hypersonic missiles. In future wars, the U.S. military will launch hypersonic missiles and stealth missiles with more than 5 times the speed of sound from the sea, the seabed, the air and land to targets for strike.
Now, the U.S. military is building a new generation of weapons platforms, with the Air Force's B-21 stealth bomber, F-35 stealth fighter, the Navy's Ford-class nuclear aircraft carrier, Columbia-class nuclear submarine, Marine Corps unmanned anti-ship missile system, and the Army's land-based missile strike system as the core combat platform.