The US Navy has awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) a US$9.5 billion contract to construct and test the first two Columbia-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs).
GDEB is the prime contractor on the Columbia-class submarines, which will replace the aging Ohio-class SSBNs.
GDEB will perform about 78 per cent of the construction of the Columbia-class at its manufacturing complex in Quonset Point, Rhode Island, while final assembly will take place at a new facility currently being built in Groton, Connecticut.
Measuring 171 metres long and displacing approximately 21,000 tonnes, the Columbia-class SSBNs will be the largest submarines ever built in the United States.
