Ohio Class Fleet Ballistic
Missile Submarine
Since the first Poseidon submarines took to the seas
in 1960, the sole purpose of the Fleet Ballistic Missile
Submarine has been strategic deterrence. Given their
wide operational area (70 percent of the world's surface
is covered by water), the SSBN represents the most survivable
and unreachable "leg" of America's land, sea, and air
nuclear deterrence tripod.
Built to accommodate the Improved Trident I ballistic
missile and relying on advances pioneered by the Narwhal's
natural circulation reactor as well as the advanced
sensor capabilities of the Los
Angeles class fast attack submarines, the Ohio class
SSBNs are the most advanced ballistic missile submarines
in the world. Virtually undetectable at operating speed
and depth, the Ohio class SSBN can maneuver with impunity
through the world's oceans and given the submarine's
sensory capabilities an Ohio class boat will detect
and maneuver around any threat long before the threat
can acquire the SSBN.
Of the eighteen Ohio class SSBNs currently in service,
the first eight were designed to fire 24 Trident I Submarine
Launched Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (SLICBM),
each of which carries 10 Multiple Independent Reentry
Vehicle (MIRV) warheads. The remaining ten were designed
to carry the more powerful Trident II SLICBM each of
which carries 12 MIRVs. Current Strategic Arms Limitation
Treaty (SALT) conditions limit the number of MIRVs to
eight per missile.
In 1992 the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START II)
was signed, limiting member nations to 14 SSBNs each.
As a result, only four of the original eight will be
backfitted with the Trident II missile, while the rest
will either be converted to SSGN cruise missile boats,
Special Operations support ships (similar to the SSN640
class) or decommissioned.
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General
Characteristics, Ohio Class
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Builders:
General
Dynamics Electric Boat Division
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Power Plant:
One
S8G nuclear reactor, two geared steam
turbines, one shaft, 60,000 shaft
horsepower
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Date Deployed:
November
11, 1981 (USS Ohio)
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Length, Overall:
560
feet (170.69 meters)
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Beam:
42
feet (12.80 meters)
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Displacement:
18,750 long tons (19,000.1 metric
tons) submerged
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Speed:
20+
knots (23.02+ miles per hour, 37.05
+kph)
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Crew:
15
Officers; 140 Enlisted
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Armament:
Mk 48 ADCAP Torpedoes, launched from
four 533mm torpedo tubes
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Radar:
1 AN/BPS-15 navigation and fire control
radar
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Sonar:
One TB-16 passive towed sonar array
One AN/BQR-19 navigation sonar
One AN/BQQ-6 low frequency spherical
bow sonar array
One AN/BQS-13 active sonar
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Optics:
One Type 2 attack periscope
One Type 18 search periscope
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Countermeasures:
WLR-10 acoustic intercept receiver
WLR-8 surveillance reciever
WLY-1 acoustic countermeasures system
Mk 2 torpedo decoy
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