Why should Russia and China be wary of the new American Columbia-class submarines? In the service of drug cartels

The story about ultra-small submarines began with handicraft submarines, the production of which can now be carried out by almost any large engineering enterprise - if only the customer had the money. But in our time, there are many customers with money, and we are talking primarily about smugglers and drug dealers. Anyone who has followed world news has noticed that in recent years there have been repeated cases of the use of ultra-small submarines to deliver drugs from Latin American countries (primarily Colombia) to Mexico, the USA and Canada.

The first mention of this type of drug trafficking dates back to the mid-1990s, when during an investigation in the United States, businessman Ludwig Fainberg was detained, who was trying to purchase a Project 865 submarine from Russia for one of the largest drug lords, Pablo Escobar. Then the deal fell through. But since then, Colombian police have repeatedly found small submarines under construction in the country.

At first, drug dealers' midget submarines were relatively simple. Therefore, their price did not exceed 200 - 300 thousand dollars. Using modern technologies and materials, a much more advanced boat can be built for $1.5-2 million.

A submarine is conducting a raid from Colombia to the north. At the final point of the route, a few kilometers from the shore, couriers are met on high-speed boats that deliver the goods to the shore. The submarine is usually sunk and the crew is sent home. The fee for one such trip ranges from 30 to 100 thousand dollars. At the same time, a kilogram of cocaine in Colombia costs about $2,500. But in the USA and Europe it sells for 30,000.

For the first time, a makeshift submarine was discovered not on the shore, but at sea, 100 miles off the coast of Costa Rica in 2006. Since then, from year to year, despite all efforts, the authorities have caught... no more than 14% of such submarines. But in the Colombian jungle, several dozen new ships are built every year to replace those confiscated. This takes approximately three months of work. It is believed that more than 30% of all cocaine is exported from Colombia using semi-submersible or submarines. Law enforcement agencies are confident that the drug mafia will continue to improve such watercraft.

Semi-submerged boat (American classification - Bigfoot II), captured by the US Coast Guard, Colombia, 2008.

In total, from 1993 to 2012, Colombian authorities seized 76 submarines from the drug mafia.

The number of submarines detained allows us to make some generalizations. Most boats have a shallow diving depth, usually not exceeding 4.5 meters. Many submarines are semi-submersible, in which case the elevation above the water can be 8-10 cm. There is a variant of a boat made from sections of high-pressure tanks. Such a boat has a collapsible design (2-3 blocks) and can be transported to the final assembly site secretly on trucks. The immersion depth reaches 40 meters, which allows, with appropriate adjustment of the control system, to simulate the behavior of whales whose migration route passes by Colombia and California. Crew – from 2 to 4 people. The weight of transported cocaine is about 3-10 tons. Power reserve is about 5 thousand km.

STORY

Conventionally, the history of ultra-small drug mafia submarines can be divided into three stages:

• from 1992 to 2004 - the period of experimental models: unexpected decisions, mistakes, destruction of boats during testing, the police are not yet sure that the supply of drugs under water is really possible;
• 2005 - 2006 - working prototypes were captured, the models are very different from each other, but are already able to travel the path from Colombia to the USA. Many solutions differ from traditional military submarine designs;
• since 2007 - mature projects, drug mafia boats in terms of electronics and automation equipment are comparable to ultra-small combat boats, serial production with high standardization of project elements.

Despite the large number of publications about the successes of the police, the actual number of intercepted submarines is very small. Most submarines are captured on shore rather than at sea. Here is a brief chronology of these victories.

1992 - The Colombian navy discovered several high-speed motor boats and unusual semi-submersible vehicles “for exploring the underwater world”, built from fiberglass. At the same time, strange devices have holds for 1 - 1.5 tons of cargo.

1994 - on the coast, in the area of ​​Tayrona National Park (Colombia), an unfinished submarine with a carrying capacity of about 1 ton was captured. It could be completely submerged, had a radar, an echo sounder for measuring depth, and oxygen cylinders.

1994 - in the city of Trubo (Colombia, near the Panama border), the police seized a half-built fiberglass apparatus “for studying the underwater world,” the customer of which turned out to be the left-wing extremist group “Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.”

1995 - unfinished submarine captured in Cartagena (Colombia), thoughtful design, similar to military boats.

2000 - unfinished but very advanced submarine, captured in Facatativa (central part of Colombia). The boat is double-hulled, with ballast and trim tanks, and a diesel-electric power plant. Undoubtedly, her participation in the design of European designers of underwater vehicles.

From 2001 to 2004, it was not possible to capture a single boat.

March 2005 - a small boat is captured in Tumaco (Colombia). The submarine was in the final phase of completion. There is very little information about this in the press.

March 2006 - a large boat is captured on the Timbo River in the Pital area (Colombia) as a result of the operation of the 2nd Marine Brigade.

November 2006 - The American Coast Guard seized the semi-submerged boat Bigfoot-1 at sea.

August 2006 - Spanish police seized a drug-smuggling submarine in Galicia. The boat was built in Spain and was inferior in detail to the Biysk models.

August 2007 - A large but poorly equipped boat is captured in Guayara on the Caribbean coast of Colombia.

November 2007 - a rather primitive boat, captured by naventura in Colombia. The boat is very similar to the boat from Guailar - a single engine operating in a semi-submersible state. Approximately every four hours the boat had to surface for complete ventilation.

2007 – the first unmanned towed “drug torpedoes” were captured.

2008 - The American Coast Guard seized a semi-submerged Bigfoot-2 boat at sea (project with a Bigfoot-1 boat).

June 2008 – Two fiberglass submarines are discovered in Colombia. Their length was 17 m, the cargo weight was up to 5 tons. The unfinished submarine was destroyed, and the one ready to sail was towed to the naval base.

May 2010 - A half-submerged boat is captured in Ecuador.

July 2010 - a large 30-meter submarine was captured in Ecuador.

2010 – a drug smuggling boat was seized in Spain.

February 2011 - Colombian intelligence services discovered a submarine that was called the most technically advanced of all previously discovered. The submarine had a length of 31 meters, was capable of diving to 9 meters and could accommodate 4 people. The navigation complex made it possible to get from Colombia to Mexico. The estimated cost of the boat is $2 million.

As you can see, the progress is not great. It is estimated that in 2007 alone, about 40 submarines with cocaine were sent from South America towards the United States, with supply volumes of 500–700 tons of cocaine per year.

PUT ON STREAM

The most popular among drug dealers are submarines up to 20 meters long, which can hold up to 4-10 tons of drugs. As Admiral Joseph Nimmich, a specialist in the fight against drug trafficking in the United States, said, there is information that the drug mafia even has fully remote-controlled submarines. Foreign specialists from developed countries (Italy, Sweden, Russia, the Netherlands and the former Yugoslavia) take an active part in the design of such boats. The scale of construction of ultra-small boats in Colombia is so great that information has emerged about their possible export to Europe for local drug traffickers.

According to unofficial statements, losses when transporting drugs across protected borders using ultra-small boats are an order of magnitude lower than by any other method. From a legal point of view, stopping a “narco-submarine” sailing on the surface in neutral waters is not so easy.

Based on unofficial sources and materials posted on the Internet, one can imagine the technology for building such boats.

The squadron of semi-submerged vessels seized by the Colombian police are mainly Bigfoot-class semi-submersible boats. The number of boats is impressive, but let's not forget that no more than 15% of underwater transporters fall into the hands of the police

First of all, a search is underway for the necessary components purchased on the commercial market, since special products are under the control of the intelligence services. For example, household security cameras can be used for a periscope, truck batteries can be used for rechargeable batteries, and car diesel engines can be used for a power plant. Those who neglect this condition and use components from real boats are usually quickly caught by intelligence agencies.

The durable body is most often made from ordinary pipes, which are bent according to patterns by hand. Individual blocks are made in a barn, far from a body of water. Final assembly and first tests of the hull are carried out in the forest, near the river, under plastic or tarpaulin canopies. A hole of the required size for preliminary tests is dug while the boat is being assembled. The finished product is launched into the sea manually. Further testing is carried out at sea with the help of former military sailors with experience in operating submarines.

In all versions, the equipment of such submarines includes a television periscope and a navigation system. In addition, the composition of the on-board equipment may include a hydroacoustic station, most often a modified civilian fishing station, retractable radio communication antennas and the Navstar space radio navigation satellite system for use at periscope depth. At the customer's request, a primitive device is installed to ensure engine operation under water, which allows charging batteries at a depth of two to three meters.

There is information that to increase the range of action, it is possible to secretly tow a transport boat to the destination area by a surface vessel. In this case, the submarine is in an underwater position, for which purpose a special remote-controlled gripper for the towing cable is mounted on the boat. Upon arrival of the vessel in the designated area, the towing vessel transmits a command to the boat crew and performs a remote disconnection. After unloading the boat, it is possible to take it in tow again to return to the base, if a decision is made to preserve the boat for future voyages.

One of the few submarines captured not on the shore, but at sea, while carrying drugs. This fiberglass semi-submersible boat had a length of 7 m. The crew was two people, the displacement was about 2 tons. Detained by the Coast Guard in 1993 off San Andres Island in the Caribbean Sea

A captured semi-submerged vessel codenamed Bigfoot II. This is a common and relatively cheap type of drug courier vessel; the price of such a semi-submersible “boat” is around 500 thousand dollars

Transport boats are equipped with cargo spaces, the net volume of which ranges from six to ten cubic meters. The external placement of several cargo modules is not excluded, which simplifies the delivery and receipt of cargo. The boat is usually driven by one person. To ensure a three-shift watch during a long journey, its crew can be three to four people. Autonomy for provisions and life support systems for a team of this size reaches 20 days.

Electric motors or a conventional diesel-electric installation, consisting of a diesel generator (with a power of about 100 kW) and an electric motor (with a power of 40 -60 hp), are used as the main power plant. The diesel fuel reserve is six to ten tons, which provides a cruising range under a snorkel or on the surface of up to 2000 miles, and the rechargeable battery guarantees 10-15 hours of underwater travel.

The design of drug dealers' boats is single-hull, without waterproof bulkheads, and there may be main ballast tanks in the bow and stern. Sometimes, for the purpose of transportation, the boat hull is dismantled into a number of separate modules, which allows them to be transported in two or three standard 30-ton class IA containers.

For example, two drug mafia submarines captured in Colombia in October 2007 fully fit the given description. One submarine was ready to sail, another was under construction at a shipyard near the port of Buenaventura on the Pacific coast.

A communiqué from the Navy press service notes that both ships belong to the left-wing extremist group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which also controls the shipyard in Buenaventura.

The ship, ready for sailing, was capable of transporting up to 5 tons of drugs. The unfinished submarine could take on board more than 10 people.

Submarine of the Colombian drug mafia, captured on February 14, 2011 near Timbiku, Cauque department (Pacific coast of Colombia). Similar boats have been found before, but never such a large one. The length of this submarine is 30 meters, and it can dive 9 meters under water.

On February 14, 2011, the Colombian military sacrificed a holiday and closed down a clandestine shipyard in a riverbed in southwestern Colombia that housed a brand new drug-transporting submarine. The length of the boat is 31 meters, width – 3 meters. The submarine can dive to a depth of 9 meters to avoid detection by coastal patrols.

When she was found, there were no people on the ship. But this is the most modern drug trafficking vessel that the Colombian military has seen. The cocaine submarine could take on board a crew of 4 people and up to 8 tons of drugs. The cost of building such a submarine, according to experts, is at least $2 million.

One more fact. In 2011, police seized an unmanned drug torpedo in the port of Buenaventura. It is 7.5 meters long and one and a half meters wide, capable of transporting up to five tons of drugs. At the same time, the drug torpedo is much simpler than the drug mafia submarine caught in February 2011, because it does not have a crew and is an uncontrollable vehicle. This submarine is hooked to the ship, and in case of danger it is lowered under water.

PRISON MEMOIRS

The world press distributed an interview with submariner Gustavo Alonso captured on one of the narco-submarines. Together with three other crew members and a security guard from the Colombian drug mafia, he was crammed into a small submarine with an area of ​​no more than 15 square meters. m, plying along the Mexican coast. The submarine was discovered by a US Coast Guard helicopter. By this time, the drug couriers had been at sea for almost two weeks - their contact person in Mexico was four days late for a meeting. There were 3.5 tons of cocaine on board, which, if they ended up on the streets of American cities, could fetch at least $60 million. There was so little space on the boat that the crew could hardly stand up to their full height. They whiled away the time playing cards; The only link with the outside world for them was the glass dome of the submarine sticking out above the water. When the helicopter appeared, they chose not to resist the well-armed Americans - the drug couriers had practically no chance of escaping from a fragile ship in the middle of the ocean.

This was not Alonso’s first voyage: before that, he had already transported 5 tons of cocaine on another submarine. “When I first saw such a submarine, I was scared,” Alonso admits. However, the fear passed, and with ten tons of fuel on board, a supply of canned food, water and 3.5 tons of cocaine, he went to sea again. The submarine was divided into three compartments. A hatch in the bow led into a meter-long cargo compartment. Alonso and his henchmen smuggled bags of cocaine there on their knees. Tanks with diesel fuel were located under the tiny compartment where the crew slept. There were no toilets or ventilation on board, but there was a GPS navigator and radio. When the engines started running on the boat, it became unbearably hot, there was not enough oxygen, and the air was filled with carbon monoxide. “You constantly feel like you’re suffocating,” Alonso recalls. Every four hours, the submarine slowed down from 12 knots to four. At this time, the crew opened the hatch for exactly one minute and let fresh air in, after which the boat picked up speed again. I had to drink a lot because of the heat, and the stench from the nearby “bowl” quickly became unbearable. Alonso's boat was intercepted by the US Coast Guard. The crew caught red-handed received very serious prison sentences. They are unlucky: most drug couriers get away with it...

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SSBN of the new, 5th generation SSBN (X). Illustration: dokwar.ru

On August 18, 2016, the Special Research Service of the US Congress published material on the project to build a new generation of nuclear strategic submarines, which should replace the current nuclear submarines armed with ballistic missiles (SSBNs, Atomic Ballistic Missile Submarine) in service with the United States. Ohio".

The Ohio-class SSBN is often referred to differently in the media and specialized research literature as “Trident” - after the name of the ballistic missile system that these submarines are armed with.

The material has been prepared for congressmen for the upcoming debates on the US budget for the 2017 fiscal year. The report provides background information and potential challenges to congressional oversight of the U.S.'s next generation SSBN program.

The first news from the report is that the SSBN project, replacing the Ohio and previously conventionally called SSBN X, received its own traditional name for the Navy in July 2016. Based on the first ship, the entire series will be called: Columbia-class SSBN. The name for the first ship in the series was chosen in honor of the US Federal District of Columbia, where the capital of the country, Washington, is located.

Currently, the US Navy has 14 Ohio-class SSBNs (built 1984-1997). In the near future, they should be replaced by 12 Columbia-class SSBNs. The US Navy plans to begin construction of the first SSBN of the series, the Columbia nuclear submarine, in 2017 in order to commission the submarine in 2021. To begin construction of the first boat and continue research and development for the needs of the entire series, federal funding is required in 2017.

Financing. The US Navy has identified the Columbia-class SSBN program as a priority naval program. Specifically, in the 2017 U.S. budget, the Navy is requesting $773.1 million to build the first series SSBN and $1,091.1 million to fund general research and development for the entire Columbia-class program.

According to preliminary estimates, the lead boat of the series, the Columbia SSBN, will cost the US budget $14.5 billion, of which $5.7 billion will go to research work. The cost of building the first boat will thus be $8.8 billion. Prices are determined in value terms in 2010s dollars. The cost of purchasing a lead boat includes higher costs for detailed design and one-time engineering work for the entire boat type.

The estimated total cost to the US budget of the entire Columbia series of boats will be about $97.0 billion. Of this total, $12 billion will go to research and development, and $85.1 billion will go directly to the purchase of all boats in the series. The form of financing is due to the fact that construction, design and research are carried out for the needs of the Pentagon by private contractors.

Thus, on average, each Columbia-class SSBN will cost $5.2 billion. Now the Navy is announcing its desire to reduce this price to $4.9 billion. With this move, they are trying to “bribe” congressmen who will make decisions on funding the program . After all, it is within the competence of Congress to approve, reject or change a request for funding for the Navy under the designated program. The cost of the series could be reduced if Congress agreed to guarantee private firms the purchase of the entire series, that is, all twelve boats, or in blocks of four or six boats.

A potential problem is the accuracy of the Navy's estimated cost for each Columbia-class submarine. Some of the Navy's latest ship designs, such as the attack aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford, have turned out to be significantly more expensive than originally planned. On average, the Congressional Budget Office estimated in October 2015 that the Navy has underestimated the cost of new ships it brings into service by about 27% in recent years. Now experts fear that instead of reducing the cost of the Navy, the Columbia series may receive an increase in the cost of the project by a similar amount.

This circumstance, even with the Navy's stated desire for savings, has competent observers in the United States concerned about the extent of the impact of the Columbia-class SSBN program on the Navy's ability to purchase other types of ships in required quantities in the 2020s and early 2030s. The US Navy is currently working on its 30-year shipbuilding program, which includes the construction of 32 other ships, including 8 Virginia-class attack submarines, 8 destroyers and 16 other capital ships. Thus, the high cost of the next generation of strategic deterrence at sea requires extraordinary measures to secure funding. However, the priority of the Columbia program means that it will still be fully funded.

It should be noted that the above costs do not include the costs of reconstructing the boat's missile system. It is planned that the Trident II D-5 naval ballistic missiles in service will last until 2042. Thus, the Columbia-class SSBN is planned to be equipped with these proven and technically advanced solid fuel and three-stage missiles equipped with multiple re-entry vehicles. According to official declassified performance characteristics, the warhead of the Trident II D-5 missile is capable of hitting a target with an accuracy of 90-120 meters. It should be noted that in 2008, Trident missiles accounted for up to 32% of deployed US nuclear warheads. Thus, at the moment, the US maritime strategic component is equal to a third of the overall US strategic triad. When we consider the implementation of the Columbia SSBN program, we are talking specifically about the modernization of a third of the US strategic military potential.

Concept for using the Columbia SSBN. Currently, fourteen Ohio SSBNs carry out a special mission of strategic nuclear deterrence in constant covert maritime patrols, ready to carry out a nuclear attack at long ranges with Trident-2 ballistic missiles when commanded. Columbia-class SSBNs should replace them in the same mission. The Ohio-class SSBN is scheduled to be decommissioned upon reaching its 42-year service life, starting from 2027 to 2040.

Nuclear deterrence remains the Pentagon's highest priority. Columbia-class SSBNs will be part of the Navy, but will be operationally subordinate to the commander of the US Strategic Command (STRATCOM). Outwardly, the matter of modernizing the naval component of the American triad does not look like an arms race. We are talking only about replacing the existing arsenal. SSBNs represent the most survivable component of the US nuclear triad. The escalation of 2014-2016 had no impact on the Columbia program. In the USA they did not demand either acceleration or expansion of it.

The number of Columbia-class SSBNs, 12, depends, among other things, on the assessment of strategic nuclear threats to the United States and the role of SSBNs in deterring such threats and as part of the overall U.S. strategic nuclear capability. In strategic planning, the United States considers it sufficient to have 10 Columbia-class SSBNs in constant operational readiness. In November 2013, the option of reducing the strength of American SSBNs to eight boats was considered to reduce budget costs. But a decrease in the number of SSBNs could raise the unpleasant question of reducing one of the existing SSBN bases - Pacific or Atlantic, which is undesirable for the operational operations of American SSBNs simultaneously in two oceans.

The service life of the Columbia SSBN is set at 42 years. After half of its service life, a major overhaul of the SSBN is planned. The calculation of US strategic planners is based on the fact that two boats will be under repair at the same time. The advantage of Columbia-class submarines will be a shorter overhaul period, since these boats will not require refueling of their nuclear reactors. Nuclear reactors of the Columbia-class nuclear submarine require an initial and only loading of nuclear fuel for the entire service life of the nuclear submarine. Based on the calculation of the duration of this future overhaul with the removal of two SSBNs from the active service, the required number of American SSBNs was determined - twelve, provided that ten SSBNs will be in constant operational readiness.

The first SSBN of the Columbia series is scheduled to enter service with the American fleet in 2021. The second - in 2024. Starting from 2026 to 2035, it is planned to commission one Columbia-class SSBN per year. In 2035, the last, twelfth, boat of the series should enter the Navy.

As already reported, the Columbia-class SSBNs are designed for a 42-year service life. This means that the first Columbia-class boat, commissioned in 2021, will last until 2063, and the last, commissioned in 2035, will last until 2077. That is, the Columbia-class SSBN is a truly 21st century US nuclear submarine. Let us recall that the Columbia class in the history of nuclear submarine shipbuilding is the fifth type of American SSBN since 1959.

There are only two shipyards in the United States capable of building nuclear-powered ships. Nuclear-powered ships make up more than 40 percent of the U.S. Navy's primary combat units. The Ohio class boats were designed and built by General Dynamics Electric Boat Division (GD/EB) of Groton, Connecticut and Quonset Point, Rhode Island. The same shipyards will build and design Columbia-class SSBNs. This circumstance largely explains the continuity of the Ohio class.

Columbia-class SSBNs will have the following tactical and technical features:

Equipped with a reactor with fuel filling for one cycle for 42 years of service;

Equipping the propulsion system with an electric drive, which will ensure greater stealth of the boat compared to previous Ohio-type boats, which already have a reputation for being very stealthy;

Equipped with 87-inch (2.2 m) diameter ballistic missile launch silos, similar in size to those on the Ohio-class SSBN. The Columbia-class SSBNs will be equipped with Trident-2 ballistic missiles, at least until 2042, after which they will probably be equipped with improved Tridents. Since 2008, British developers have been working on the missile compartment of the Columbia-class SSBN under predominantly British funding, since the missile compartment on American SSBNs will be similar to those used on the new type of British SSBN being designed;

In terms of its dimensions - length and beam, the Columbia-class SSBN will be almost similar to the Ohio-class SSBN. Columbia's beam will be only one foot larger - 43 feet (13.1 m) instead of Ohio's 42 feet (12.8 m). The length of the two types of boats - "Clombia" and "Ohio" - is similar - 560 feet (170.68 m). In terms of displacement and size, the American Ohio and Columbia class nuclear submarines are close to the battlecruisers of the First World War;

Instead of Ohio's 24 missile silos, Columbia will have 16 missile silos. But despite such a significant quantitative - by one third - reduction in missile weapons, the displacement (underwater) of the Columbia will be greater - 20,815 tons instead of 18,750 tons of the Ohio. Therefore, we can confidently say that the Columbia will be more equipped with all sorts of new equipment that the Ohio does not have. It is known that the Columbia-class SSBNs, “due to unique requirements of strategic importance,” have increased requirements for stealth and survivability;

Based on the calculation of equipping the Columbia-class SSBN with 16 Trident II D-5 ballistic missiles, all twelve boats of the series will be armed with a maximum of 192 ballistic missiles with 1536 warheads at a minimum and 2688 at a maximum. The Trident II D-5 ballistic missile has two options: either up to 8 W88 thermonuclear warheads with an explosion yield of 475 kilotons, or up to 14 W76 warheads with a yield of 100 kilotons;

The crew of the SSBN Columbia, according to preliminary information, will be about 155 people. Apparently, as in the case of the Ohio-class SSBN, the Columbia will have two replaceable crews - according to the American classification Gold and Blue.

The American company General Dynamics Electric Boat received a contract worth $101.3 million to create a single new missile compartment for nuclear submarines for the US and British Navy, writes the military-analytical publication The National Interest. In the future, it will be used on the latest American submarines with intercontinental ballistic missiles on board the new generation Columbia class, the publication specifies.

Currently, the only strategic missile carriers in service with the US Navy are 14 Ohio-class nuclear submarines built in the 1980s and 1990s. In the near future, they should be replaced by 12 Columbia-class submarines. The US Navy plans to begin construction of the first series of this project in 2017, with a view to commissioning the submarine in 2021. From 2026 to 2035, it is planned to commission one Columbia-class SSBN per year. In 2035, the last, twelfth boat in the series should enter the Navy.

Columbia can easily be called the US nuclear submarine of the 21st century. Columbia is being developed for 42 years of service, according to U.S. Navy Capt. David Goggins, Ohio-class replacement program manager. It is precisely this cycle that the nuclear reactors designed for these submarines are designed for.

This means that the first Columbia-class boat, commissioned in 2021, will last until 2063, and the last, commissioned in 2035, will last until 2077.

"Columbia" will receive an electric drive of the propulsion system, which will provide greater stealth to the boat compared to previous Ohio-class boats, which already have a reputation for being very stealthy.

Instead of Ohio's 24 missile silos, Columbia will have 16 missile silos. Until 2042, the Columbia-class missile carriers will be equipped with the well-proven Trident II D-5 class ballistic missiles with multiple warheads in two configurations: either up to 8 W88 thermonuclear warheads with an explosion yield of 475 kilotons, or up to 14 W76 warheads with a yield of 100 kilotons

All twelve boats in the series will be armed with 192 ballistic missiles with a number of warheads from 1536 to 2688.

In terms of their dimensions - length, beam and draft - the Columbia-class submarines are almost similar to their predecessors, the Ohio. Despite the significant reduction in missile weapons, the Columbia's underwater displacement will be greater - 20,815 tons instead of the Ohio's 18,750 tons.

The crew of the Columbia, according to preliminary information, will be 155 people. As in the case of the Ohio, the Columbia will apparently have two replacement crews - according to the American classification Gold and Blue.

The development of the ship's performance requirements has been completed and the program is preparing for the detailed design phase and initial production contract.

To begin construction of the first boat and continue research and development for the needs of the entire series, federal funding is needed next year. However, the modernization of naval strategic nuclear forces - a program of paramount importance for the US Navy - may face serious funding problems, the publication writes.

According to American naval experts, to implement the Columbia program, the US Navy needs a significant increase in budget allocations, otherwise it will have to sacrifice other areas of fleet development.

To successfully implement the Columbia program, it is necessary to find additional sources of funding in the amount of approximately $4 billion per year for approximately 15 years. A total of more than $60 billion, according to a recently released Congressional Research Service report entitled “Columbia-Class Ballistic Missile Submarine (Replacement for Ohio”). Submarine SSBN (X). History and Problems for Congress."

The report suggests many different measures to find the required funding, including contracts concluded for longer terms, at lower prices, changes in the schedule for the commissioning of nuclear submarines and the construction of Columbia-class submarines under the same contract with Virginia-class torpedo boats " The issue of reducing the total number of Columbia-class submarines planned for construction is even being considered.

“However, most experts in the United States agree that American legislators will not take this step,” Konstantin Makienko, deputy director of the Center for Analysis and Strategies, explained to Gazeta.Ru.

The US Navy has designated the Columbia-class missile launcher program as a priority naval program. From the US budget for 2017, the Navy is requesting $773.1 million to build the first submarine of this series and $1 billion 91.1 million to fund general research and development for the entire Columbia-class program.

According to the most preliminary calculations, the lead boat of the Columbia series will cost the US budget $14.5 billion, of which $5.7 billion will go only to research work. The cost of building the first boat will thus be $8.8 billion. The cost of purchasing the lead boat will, as usual for the first ship in the series, be significantly higher. It includes detailed design and one-time engineering costs for the entire boat type.

The estimated total cost to the US budget of the entire Columbia series of boats could reach up to $97 billion: $12 billion will go to research and development, $85.1 billion will go directly to the purchase of all boats in the series. On average, each Columbia-class boat will cost $5.2 billion.

The Navy now says it wants to lower that price to $4.9 billion.

The Columbia-class submarines are expected to borrow a lot of technology from the latest Virginia-class submarines. Such measures will reduce the overall costs of implementing the Columbia program.

We are talking about a remote control system, a navigation system and a sonar with enhanced tactical and technical characteristics. Instead of a periscope, the boats will have special masts with video cameras, the image from which is transmitted via fiber optic cable to the central post.

The Russian Navy is armed with missile carriers of the second and third generations - projects 667BDR "Squid", 667BDRM "Dolphin" and 941UM "Akula", as well as three fourth generations - project 955 "Borey": "Yuri Dolgoruky" as part of the Northern Fleet, " Alexander Nevsky" and "Vladimir Monomakh" - as part of the Pacific Fleet. Borei class submarines carry 16 intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The Navy recently began building a new class of strategic missile submarines that will be part of the naval nuclear deterrent force and will ensure a second strike from the deep ocean anywhere in the world in the event of a catastrophic first strike on the continental United States.

The terms of reference for the construction of the new submarine have already been drawn up, and the developers have begun detailed design, concluding an initial production contract. Navy officials said this.

The designers of the new submarine have moved to the so-called stage B, which includes initial development leading to final production. The decision to start production is called stage B.

“On January 4, the decision was made to move to Phase B, which allows us to begin design and production development and move from preliminary to detailed design,” Naval Systems Command spokesman William Couch told Scout Warrior. ).

In total, the Navy hopes to build and field 12 new SSBNs, which will enter the fleet by the early 2040s and will serve until the early 2080s.

The Navy has begun preliminary construction of prototypes of a new type of SSBN that will ensure world peace with enormous destructive power.

As part of the Ohio-class submarine replacement program, construction is scheduled to begin in 2021. Work on the preparation of technical conditions, specifications and the creation of prototypes is already underway at the Electric Boat shipyard of General Dynamics.

The boat that will replace the Ohio will have a length of 170 meters. There will be 16 Trident II D5 missiles located there, which are planned to be launched from launch silos 14 meters long. The submarine will be stealthy and high-tech, which will allow it to carry out nuclear deterrence missions while quietly patrolling the underwater expanses.

The operational life of the new Columbia-class boats should be 42 years. Construction of the first submarine of the new class is planned to be completed by 2028, and it will begin entering combat service in 2031.

Context

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Navy officials explain that the boats that will replace the Ohio will perform nuclear deterrence missions.

Detailed design of the first Columbia-class submarine is scheduled for 2017. The new boats will have stealth characteristics and will quietly patrol underwater spaces, acting as a critical element of strategic deterrence, which is designed to deliver a second, or retaliatory, nuclear strike in the event of an attack using nuclear weapons.

The Navy will create 12 submarines to replace the 14 operational Ohio-class nuclear submarines. The new boats will have a reactor with an improved core, which will increase its service life.

As a result, the Columbia-class submarines will be able to enter combat service more times than the Ohio, and at the same time they will not need intermediate reactor refueling to reach the end of their 42-year service life.

By creating a reactor core for the life of the boat, the Navy, with 12 new SSBNs, will be able to provide the same presence at sea that 14 ballistic missile boats provide today. Navy developers said it plans to save $40 billion in procurement and life cycle costs.

Electric Boat and the Navy have made significant progress in their preliminary prototype work by attaching the missile silos to the hull compartments. As part of this effort to articulate the launch tubes and hull, the submarine is being welded and assembled, and the ability to manufacture key components of the submarine is being assessed before its final assembly.

In 2012, General Dynamics and its Electric Boat shipyard received a five-year R&D contract for the Columbia SSBN worth $1.85 billion. It includes specific incentives to reduce costs and improve production efficiency.

The United States and Great Britain are working together to create a missile compartment for a new SSBN. They are procuring parts for this compartment together and are working with Electric Boat on a $770 million contract. The US plans to build 12 Columbia-class boats with 16 launch silos each, and Britain intends to build four boats with 12 launch silos each.

New generation technologies

The Columbia-class boats will employ next-generation technologies, many of which are taken from the Virginia-class attack submarine. Navy officials say using existing systems from operational attack submarines will allow them to integrate much of today's technology while saving money on new developments.

The Columbia SSBN will use a fly-by-wire control system and on-board wide-aperture hydroacoustic antennas.

The operating principle of a hydroacoustic station is that it sends an acoustic signal and then analyzes its reflection, determining the shape, location and size of the enemy’s underwater object.

Navy experts explain that the wide-aperture bow antenna array does not have a dome, and that it has a very small noise direction finder with a long service life. In addition, on a new boat you will not have to change the antenna array measuring transducers every 10 years.

Among the Virginia's combat systems installed on the Columbia will be electronic surveillance equipment, periscopes, radios and computer systems. These boats will be equipped with an automated fly-by-wire navigation system, which is also found on the Virginia submarines. The computer built into the ship's control system uses algorithms to maintain course and maintain diving depth, which send signals to the rudders and to the stern.

The new boat's shafts are designed to last 10-12 years and will be replaced as part of the maintenance and repair schedule. The shafts available today have a service life of six to eight years.

Columbia will also use Virginia's next-generation communications system, antennas and mast. For example, instead of a periscope, it will use a camera on a mast connected to a fiber optic cable. This will allow the boat crew to see the images without having to stand at the periscope. Thanks to this, designers will be able to remove control posts in large compartments of the ship, and submariners will still be able to see the situation using the camera on the mast.

A new electric motor is also being developed for Columbia, which will spin the shaft and rotor of the power plant. Thanks to the new engine, the power plant will become more efficient, which will also provide combat advantages.

Lawmakers intend to create a special fund to finance expensive work on the construction of new generation SSBNs.

Members of Congress discussed the details of the fund, established in 2015, at recent hearings. It is intended for the targeted allocation of funds for the development and construction of new submarines. In total, the Navy hopes to purchase 12 new SSBNs that will serve until 2085 and even longer.

Construction of the lead ship could cost $12.4 billion. Of these, 4.8 billion will be spent one-time on R&D, and 7.6 billion on the construction of the boat.

The Navy expects the remaining submarines to cost $4.9 billion each (in 2010 prices).

InoSMI materials contain assessments exclusively of foreign media and do not reflect the position of the InoSMI editorial staff.

The United States intends to begin construction of the lead boat of the Columbia class in 2021. It is planned that these submarines will replace the Ohio-class nuclear submarines, which have been in service since 1981 and are currently the only American submarines carrying intercontinental ballistic missiles. Construction of the first nuclear submarine, the Columbia, is due to be completed in 2031. Thus, the replacement for “Ohio” will arrive exactly half a century after the start of combat duty.

Naturally, the boat that has been awaited for 50 years cannot simply be an improved version of the previous one. There is already a statement from US Navy contractor General Dynamics Electric Boat that the new submarine will be radically different from those that came before. This will be the first submarine in the world to accommodate female crew members.

In 2010, the US Navy lifted the ban on women serving in the submarine fleet, and since then the number of representatives of the fair sex on American submarines has been steadily increasing. Today there are already about 80 officers and about 50 ordinary female submariners. And now a new submarine is being designed especially for them.

There is not much open information about Columbia. In theory, they should be the same length as the Ohio, but a little thicker. Presumably, each boat will have 16 missile silos for the Trident II D5LE ICBM, which is 8 less than its predecessor. The main emphasis will be on improving stealth characteristics... Well, and on providing comfortable conditions for serving as female submariners.

According to the authoritative weapons portal Defense News, designers must provide the submarine with separate toilets and showers for the male and female crew, dedicated sleeping areas equipped with doors, and other similar details.

In addition, a number of less noticeable changes are made to the design. For example, all bunk beds will have a special step to make it easier to climb onto the top bunk. There are also plans to move a number of valves to make them easier to operate, and to move the seats in the control compartment so that smaller crew members can easily reach the necessary levers and switches. And, of course, the submarine will need washing and drying machines.

All this certainly sounds strange. Is it really better to make changes to the design of a submarine costing hundreds of millions of dollars than to simply recruit male crews? But it becomes clear where the missing 8 missile silos went. Apparently, their places were taken by separate bedrooms, as well as additional showers and toilets.

However, American designers know better. The main thing is that it doesn’t occur to some new soldier to wash her grease-stained overalls while the boat lies on the ground in complete silence. Otherwise they will discover it by the characteristic sounds of a spinning drum.

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