Navy Columbia Class (Ohio Replacement) Ballistic Missile Submarine (SSBN[X]) Program: Background and Issues for Congress

Abstract

The Navys proposed FY2017 budget requests $773.1 million in advance procurement (AP) funding and $1,091.1 million in research and development funding for the Columbia class program, previously known as the Ohio replacement program (ORP) or SSBN(X) program, a program to design and build a new class of 12 ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) to replace the Navys current force of 14 Ohio-class SSBNs. The Navy has identified the Columbia class program as the Navys top priority program. The Navy wants to procure the first Columbia-class boat in FY2021, and the $773.1 million in AP funding requested for FY2017 represents the initial procurement funding for that boat. A March 2016 GAO report assessing selected major DOD weapon acquisition programs states that the estimated total acquisition cost of the Columbia class program is about $97.0 billion in constant FY2016 dollars, including about $12.0 billion in research and development costs and about $85.1 billion in procurement costs. The Navy as of February 2015 estimated the procurement cost of the lead boat in the program at $14.5 billion in then-year dollars, including $5.7 billion in detailed design and nonrecurring engineering (DD/NRE) costs for the entire class, and $8.8 billion in construction costs for the ship itself. (It is a traditional budgeting practice for Navy shipbuilding programs to attach the DD/NRE costs for a new class of ships to the procurement cost of the lead ship in the class.) In constant FY2010 dollars, these figures become $10.4 billion, including $4.2 billion in DD/NRE costs and $6.2 billion in construction costs for the ship itself. The Navy in January 2015 estimated the average procurement cost of boats 2 through 12 in the Columbia class program at about $5.2 billion each in FY2010 dollars, and is working to reduce that figure to a target of $4.9 billion each in FY2010 dollars.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 18, 2016
Accession Number
AD1015379

Entities

People

  • Ronald O'Rourke

Organizations

  • Congressional Research Service

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Attack Submarines
  • Ballistic Missile Submarines
  • Boats
  • Engineers
  • Fleet Ballistic Missiles
  • Marine Transportation
  • National Security
  • Naval Operations
  • Naval Warfare
  • Navy
  • Nuclear Powered Submarines
  • Nuclear Propulsion
  • Shipbuilding
  • Strategic Weapons
  • Submarine Warfare
  • United States Strategic Command
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Life Cycle Cost Analysis
  • Maritime and Naval Warfare Studies