By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization
(Washington D.C.) Lurking secretly in dark waters around the world holding potential adversaries at risk of nuclear destruction from unknown locations, US Navy nuclear armed ballistic missile submarines offer the backbone of US strategic deterrence. Undersea strategic deterrence essentially guarantees second-strike retaliatory catastrophic destruction of any adversary who attacks the US with nuclear weapons…. thus preventing war by ensuring the complete annihilation of any country launching a nuclear first strike on the US. The promise of total destruction, somewhat paradoxically one might say, keeps the peace.
This conceptual premise is why, for many years now, the Pentagon has identified the now emerging Columbia-class nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines as a number one DoD acquisition priority. After years of science and technology, prototyping and advanced design specs, the US Navy is now building its first Columbia-class submarine slated to arrive at the end of the decade. Designed to replace the aging fleet of Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines which have performed admirably for decades well beyond their expected service life, the Columbias will introduce a wide sphere of new technological leaps forward in the realm of the undersea.
The innovations woven into the Columbia-class submarines are numerous, perhaps the most significant of which is the way it is built with a new, ultra-quiet electric drive propulsion system replacing legacy hydraulic systems. Among other things, this means that Columbia-class submarines will be much harder to detect than existing Ohios and therefore be better positioned for clandestine strategic deterrence missions. An electric drive has other advantages as well, as it enables more on-board electrical power sufficient to sustain on board command and control, navigational systems and energy necessary for many of its technologies.
Navy engineers explain that in today’s Ohio-class submarines, a reactor plant generates heat which creates steam. The steam then turns turbines which produce electricity and also propel the ship forward through “reduction gears” which are able to translate the high-speed energy from a turbine into the shaft RPMs needed to move a boat propeller.
Columbias are also being built with a new X-shaped stern intended to improve both maneuverability and quieting for the submarine. A great advantage with Columbias is that they are built with a “life-of-core” nuclear reactor which does not need to be dry-docked for lengthy mid-life refueling procedures. This massively improves operational tempo, deployability and mission resilience. It is the reason why the Navy plans to build only 12 Columbia-class boats to replace the current fleet of 14 Ohio submarines.
Yet another interesting element of the Columbia class is that it is being engineered with a handful of innovations now integrated into the US Navy’s Block III Virginia-class attack submarines. These include the integration of a fiber-optic cable linking periscope sights to command and control centers within the boat, removing the need for submariners to stand directly below a periscope. Depending upon how the cable is configured, Commanders can view periscope images from anywhere within the submarine. An equally if not more impactful Virginia-class Block III innovation is the “fly-by-wire” navigational system also built into the Columbias. Instead of needing to rely upon hydraulic or mechanical navigation, fly-by-wire uses computer automation to regulate speed, depth and other critical navigational variables while ensuring human decision-makers function in a command and control capacity. This expedites the application of critical, potentially time-sensitive navigational adjustments.
Kris Osborn is the Military Affairs Editor of 19 FortyFive and President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
