Groton, CT – A massive bow section arrived at General Dynamics Electric Boat’s Groton shipyard today, marking a meaningful step in the construction of the future USS District of columbia, the first submarine in the Navy’s new Columbia class. The delivery is a key milestone as the company works toward completing the $16.1 billion ballistic missile submarine by 2029.
the Columbia-class submarines are designed to replace the Navy’s aging Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines, built in Groton between 1976 and 1997. Twelve columbia-class subs are planned in total.
Electric Boat is heavily investing in infrastructure to support the program.This month, the company purchased the Crystal Mall in Waterford, with plans to transform it into an engineering center capable of housing up to 5,000 employees.
The District of columbia is being constructed in collaboration with Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), wich is building both bow and stern modules at its Newport news Shipbuilding plant in Virginia. The stern section arrived in Groton in 2023 aboard the barge Holland, the same vessel that delivered the bow module.
Company officials have described progress on the lead submarine in 2026 as “pivotal” to the overall program. The District of Columbia will ultimately replace the USS Henry M. Jackson,an Ohio-class submarine commissioned in 1984.
Currently, Electric Boat and Newport News are concurrently building the future USS Wisconsin, projected to cost $10.7 billion, according to the Congressional Research Service. The third submarine in the class, the USS Groton, is estimated at $10.5 billion.
The Pentagon recently approved $2.3 billion in funding for parts for the fifth Columbia-class submarine, which remains unnamed. The entire Columbia-class fleet is projected to cost at least $126.5 billion,according to the Government Accountability Office.
Supporting the construction, Bollinger Shipyards christened the 618-foot floating dry dock Atlas last month. This dry dock will be used to launch the Columbia-class submarines into the Thames River and for future fleet maintenance.
Electric Boat and Newport News also collaborate on the construction of Virginia-class attack submarines, which feature cruise missile launch capabilities. HII Newport News recently delivered the newest Virginia-class sub,the USS Massachusetts,to the Navy,with Electric Boat having contributed modules for assembly. The USS Massachusetts will be christened next year in Boston.
(Includes prior reporting by Luther Turmelle.)
