Columbia-Class: Delivery Schedule

Planned Procurement
The delivery of Columbia-class is initially set based on when each will be officially purchased. The Navy’s proposed schedule for procuring 12 Columbia-class boats, and for having Columbia-class boats replace Ohio-class SSBNs, is shown below. Under the Navy’s FY2012 budget, the first Columbia-class boat was scheduled to be procured in FY2019, and Columbia-class boats were to enter service on a schedule that would maintain the Navy’s SSBN force at 12 boats. The Navy’s FY2013 budget deferred the procurement of the first Columbia-class boat by two years, to FY2021.

As a result of the deferment of the procurement of the lead boat from FY2019 to FY2021, the Navy’s SSBN force will drop to 11 or 10 boats for the period FY2029-FY2041. The Navy states that the reduction to 11 or 10 boats during this period is acceptable in terms of meeting strategic nuclear deterrence requirements, because during these years, all 11 or 10 of the SSBNs in service will be operational (i.e., none of them will be in the midst of a lengthy mid-life overhaul).

The Navy acknowledges that there is some risk in having the SSBN force drop to 11 or 10 boats, because it provides little margin for absorbing an unforeseen event that might force an SSBN into an unscheduled and lengthy maintenance action.

Delivery of Lead Boat
As the Navy delayed purchase of the first Columbia-class boat until FY2021, there is a new delivery schedule that updates the initial estimate below. The Navy’s FY2023 budget submission would have the first boat (lead boat) delivered in October 2027 (USS District of Columbia / SSBN-826 ), the second in October 2030 (USS Wisconsin / SSBN-827), the third boat in July 2032, and the fourth boat in July 2033. The remaining submarines are expected to be delivered at the rate of one per year. After being delivered in 2027, the lead boat would undergo substantial testing, with the aim of having it be ready for its first deterrent patrol in 2030. Results of those tests, and part supplier's capacity to deliver on-time, may pose a risk to the lead submarine’s delivery schedule and the service dates of following Columbia-class submarines. The Navy is considering extending the service lives of some Ohio-class boats if needed, to ensure the SSBN force remains above 12 boats.

Columbia-class Delivery Schedule Updates
November 2024: Navy promises first Columbia-class boat will 'Be on Patrol in 2030'. Speaking at the annual Naval Submarine Symposium, Matt Sermon (Executive Director, Program Executive Office Strategic Submarines) emphasized the Navy’s commitment to delivering the future USS District of Columbia (SSBN-826) on time. "Shipbuilders out there, supply chain, major mechanical equipment out there, stakeholders out there, we’re going to have District of Columbia on patrol in 2030." Sermon acknowledged the ongoing trouble with the lead ship’s schedule, which is currently tracking to a 96-month build instead of the 84-month contract timeline.

April 2024: The Navy's 45-day delivery review ordered by Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro in January 2024, reportedly states the future USS District of Columbia (SSBN-826) is projected to be between 12 and 16 months late. This would push delivery of SSBN-826 until October 2028 or early 2029.

September 2023: Adm. Lisa Franchetti told the Senate Armed Services Committee during her confirmation hearing to be chief of naval operations- "Columbia started out on an accelerated schedule. We are no longer on the accelerated schedule, but we are meeting the contracted delivery schedule for Columbia," ... "We are continuing to work closely with industry against all those challenges that I described earlier and continuing to provide the right level of oversight so we understand where we are. It is [an] all hands on deck effort to ensure that we stay on time."

December 2022: General Dynamics Electric Boat announced that the U.S. Navy awarded a $5.1-billion modification of the previously awarded Columbia Integrated Product and Process Development Contract for the Columbia class of submarines. The award funds advance procurement and advance construction of critical components and material to support Build II (the next five ships in the class), efforts to support continuous missile tube production, enhancements to develop the Submarine Industrial Base, and sustained class maintenance and support.

"This award enhances Electric Boat's efforts to maintain the Columbia-class production and delivery schedule. Advance procurement of long lead time materials and component construction is critical to the program, and the strategic investments in the development and expansion of the Submarine Industrial Base will help stabilize and grow the supply chain, which increases manufacturing capacity, reduces risk and ultimately drives timely delivery of submarines to the Navy," said Kevin Graney, president of General Dynamics Electric Boat.

August 2022: RADM Scott W. Pappano (Program Executive Office Strategic Submarines) spoke at the Mitchell Institute's Nuclear Deterrence and Missile Defense Forum event, saying that having the right work force is one of the biggest challenges affecting the Columbia-class ballistic submarine program’s ability to stay on schedule.