Navy Formally Designates Next Generation Of Ballistic Missile Submarines As Columbia-Class

NORWICH, CT —Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02), ranking member of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, made the following statement after the U.S. Navy formally announced that the first Ohio-class replacement submarine will be named the USS Columbia (SSBN-826) in honor of the District of Columbia. By tradition, all of the following submarines will be known as Columbia-class.

"The decision to name new ballistic missile submarine after our Nation’s Capital is the highest compliment that the Navy can bestow on this critical program. The USS Columbia and the rest of the submarines in the class will patrol the seas until the 2080s in silent but critical service to our nation’s defense, and will carry with it the history of the shipyard that launched the ‘Forty-One For Freedom’ original class of ballistic submarines starting in 1957,” said Courtney. “Designation of the first submarine is another milestone that affirms the hard work of thousands of workers in southeastern Connecticut to replace the aging Ohio-class submarines. Hardworking men and women at Electric Boat and the hundreds of suppliers across our state have already been hard at work for years to support this program, and remain committed to ensuring its success. Southeastern Connecticut is ready to take on this task which the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral John Richardson has called ‘foundational to America's national security’."

###