The fiscal year 2026 defense authorization bill is giving the Navy some flexibility in how it buys Columbia-class nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs).
The compromise bill, signed by President Donald Trump Dec. 18, allows the Navy to procure up to five Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines starting next year.
The explanatory statement released with the bill noted the compromise bill went with the House version that also authorizes incremental funding for SSBN payments.
The Columbia-class SSBN will eventually replace the Ohio-class SSBNs. The Navy plans to buy 12 Columbia-class boats to replace the aging Ohio-class SSBNs in what it frequently calls its top acquisition priority. As of June, the sub was projected to be ready by 2029, two years behind schedule.
Most recently, General Dynamics Electric Boat was awarded a $2.28 billion contract modification to cover advance procurement and construction of five more Columbia-class sub hulls.
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) recently completed the last production unit of the W88 Alt 370 warhead, which addresses aging concerns of the W88 warhead currently deployed in the Navy’s Ohio-class trident II D5 Submarine-launched ballistic missile system that the Columbia-class is meant to replace.
The W93 warhead, which NNSA will now focus on upon completion of the W88 Alt 370 program, is the first new U.S. nuclear warhead design since the Cold War, and will be the primary warhead for the Columbia-class submarines carrying Trident II D5 missiles.