As the Ohio-class SSBNs reach the end of their 42-year service life, the Navy needs to ensure the new Columbia boats are ready to come online heel-to-toe and replace the Ohios, keeping that 10-boat requirement.

Strategic Command at least 10 SSBNs available to conduct patrols, lurking in the depths of the ocean with nuclear weapons onboard as the most survivable leg of the U.S. The Navy has long said the Columbia SSBN program is its top acquisition priority. It also addresses potential problems that could arise later in the decade, giving the Navy tools to ward them off if there are early indicators of challenges arising, and it simplifies the submarine acquisition and sustainment community’s interactions with industry, the fleet and the Navy logistics community by putting just one flag officer in charge in several areas where before there were multiple stakeholders and problems could fall through the cracks. Jay Stefany, the acting assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, told Defense News the reorganization balances out the workload among the three portfolios, whereas previously the PEO Subs organization was overburdened. Similarly, all attack submarine work - building and sustaining the Virginia class, seeing the Los Angeles class through its remaining life, early phases of research and design for the next-generation SSN(X) and SSN-specific mission systems - will fall under a new PEO Attack Submarines (SSN).Īnd a new PEO Undersea Warfare Systems will oversee submarine combat systems and weapons, undersea communications systems, training and safety programs and more - and will serve as the undersea domain lead for Project Overmatch, which seeks to net together manned and unmanned Navy assets in all domains.

Diagram of a virginia class submarine