It is a beast. Or rather, it will be a dozen beasts. 12 units will be manufactured, each will be armed with 16 nuclear missilesthe first will enter service in 2027 and its reactor will not require fuel recharge during its useful life. To that we must add a length of 170 meters, 13 meters of manga and a displacement of 20,810 tons. It is the District of Columbia submarine, the largest ever built by the US.
Your reactor It will not require fuel recharge during the useful life of the planned service (about 40 years), which makes your operation more profitable and maximize your time in the deployment.
This week, the Naval Foundry and Helic Center (NFPC) of the US Navy. The last main component of the submarine propeller to General Dynamics-Electric Boat (GDEB) to complete the development of this giant.
According to A press release From the US Navy. UU., GDEB received the component in Philadelphia (a propeller of almost half a million kilos) And he transported it to Groton’s shipyard, Connecticut.
Delivery marks a historic milestone for NFPC and The culmination of a duration project. Before the placement of the submarine keel in 2022, NFPC worked in the patterns, molds and molten pieces of the propeller. The first subcomponent was placed in 2019 and the last one in 2021.
The NFPC trajectory to produce the propeller for the Columbia district has promoted engineering innovation to new levels, which has resulted in multiple records of non -ferrous molten pieces in the US. The largest molten piece weighed more than 118,000 kg and is already in the GDEB for installation. According to the US Navy, NFPC It poured almost 450,000 kg of bronze and eliminated more than 90,000 kg of chips of machinery in the main project of the ship.
The Columbia class is the future maritime strategic deterrence of the country, the main priority of acquisition of the Navy and will provide the component with the highest survival capacity of the country’s strategic triad. This class will guarantee A continuous maritime strategic deterrence until the 2080s And it will be the largest, capable and advanced submarine in the country.
Propelled by a nuclear reactor, will have a turboplectric propulsion system and a jet propulsion system, which will allow unlimited operational autonomy. The crew is designed for 155 people.
The planned useful life of the Columbia class is about 42 years and is expected to be in service until the 2080s during this time, each submarine is expected perform approximately 124 deterrence patrols.
The submarine will have a state -of -the -art nuclear fuel nucleus, which will eliminate the need for refueling in the middle of its useful life, as necessary for the ancient submarines of the Ohio class.
The missile launch system retains the same size as that of the Ohio class to house the Trident D5 missiles, but It has 16 launch tubes instead of 24, which reflects a change of strategic approach.
Additional design features include X -shaped stern control surfaces for better maneuverabilityimmersion plans mounted on candles for greater immersion efficiency and an integrated propulsion system that works perfectly with the nuclear reactor.
The submarine will also use a nuclear-electrical propulsion system, A pumping jet propeller for silent operation and an anechoic coating that helps reduce noise detection. Its great -opening bow (LAB) and stern area (SAS) systems further improve their operational capabilities in surveillance and combat scenarios.