As a result, the four oldest boats of the class- Ohio, Michigan, Florida, and Georgia-progressively entered the conversion process in late 2002 and were returned to active service by 2008. The decision was made to convert four Ohio-class boats into SSGNs capable of conducting conventional land attack and special operations. Navy would be operating in total, 14 would be sufficient for the strategic needs of the U.S. In 1994, the Nuclear Posture Review study determined that, of the 18 Ohio SSBNs the U.S. Ohio-class submarines that carry ballistic missiles receive orders from the United States Strategic Command based in Nebraska. The primary self-defense weapon of the class is the Mk 48 ADCAP torpedo. ![]() The 73,000 lb (33,100 kg) UGM-96, with a range of 4,000 mi (6,400 km), served from October 1979, starting with the Benjamin Franklin-class USS Francis Scott Key, until 2006. Both variants of the Tridents-the UGM-96 Trident I and the UGM-133 Trident II-are propelled by three-stage solid propellant rockets and are equipped with 8–14 nuclear warheads. The Ohio class was designed in the 1970s to carry the concurrently-designed Trident submarine-launched ballistic missile. The Ohio class replaced the Benjamin Franklin- and Lafayette-class SSBNs. The Ohio-class boats, each displacing 18,750 tons submerged, are the third largest submarines in the world, behind the 48,000-ton Typhoon class and 24,000-ton Borei class of the Russian Navy. The remaining four have been converted from their initial roles as SSBNs to cruise-missile carriers (SSGN). Air Force strategic bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles, constitute the nuclear-deterrent triad of the U.S. Fourteen of the eighteen boats are ballistic missile submarines (SSBN), which, along with U.S. Named after its lead boat, the Ohio class of nuclear-powered submarines is, as of October 2013, serving with its sole operator, the United States Navy. ![]() ![]() Michael Kurilla, the commander of US Central Command, could come aboard and participate in a communications exercise “to validate emerging and innovative tactics in the Indian Ocean,” according to the Navy.USS Louisiana, the last of the Ohio class, arrives at Naval Base Kitsap, Washington (2005). Prior to the Diego Garcia port call, the West Virginia surfaced in the Arabian Sea so that Gen. They are specifically designed for extended patrolling, according to the Navy, with three large-diameter hatches that allow for rapid transfer of supplies and equipment. The USS West Virginia is one of 14 Ohio-class submarines that carry a maximum of 20 ICBMs. ![]() Charles Richard, commander of US Strategic Command, said in a statement.Ī typical submarine patrol lasted 10 to 12 weeks, according to the official, and by switching out crew, a patrol can be extended by several weeks. “Every operational plan rests on the assumption that nuclear deterrence is holding, and (ballistic missile submarines) like West Virginia are vital to a credible nuclear deterrence for the United States and our allies,” Adm. The remote location gave the nuclear-missile-equipped submarine the ability to switch out the 150-person crew unobserved by outsiders, therefore preserving the secrecy of the submarine’s operations and allowing the sub to remain in the region for a longer period of time.Īlthough the official declined to specify as to whether the message was aimed at China, Russia or North Korea, the underwater stealth of US submarines is critical to gathering highly classified signals intelligence about adversaries as well as providing the sea-based leg of the nuclear deterrent by carrying nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles. “They should take from this that a ballistic missile submarine which is undetectable can operate in any ocean for an extended period,” the official said.ĭiego Garcia is a highly militarized island south of the equator that is used by both US and British forces. The significance of publicizing the port call of the USS West Virginia is to send a message to potential adversaries as well as allies, according to a military official familiar with the unusual port stop. The specific movements of Navy submarines are highly classified while they are sea, so the delayed announcement would have given the submarine the time to transit to other locations in the Indian Ocean. This week, the Navy revealed the docking of the USS West Virginia and its port visit that actually took place from October 25 to 31. The US military wants its adversaries, as well as allies, to know that, for the first time, a US Navy nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine docked at the remote island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean as part of an extended months-long deployment.
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