Columbia Class Submarine Improves Versatility, Endurance, and Stealth of the Triad

Posted: July 11th, 2017

By Admiral Jonathan Greenert

Jonathan W. Greenert is a retired four-star admiral and former Chief of Naval Operations (2011-2015). Over the course of his 40 year Navy career, he served 15 years in the Asia-Pacific region including Deputy Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Commander, U.S. Seventh (Asia-Pacific) Fleet, establishing enduring relationships with his foreign counterparts. He also served as Commander, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Chief Financial Officer (N8-Navy) and Vice Chief of Naval Operations. Admiral Greenert retired from military service in October 2015 and currently holds the Chair in National Security (General John Shalikashvili Chair) for the National Bureau for Asian Research, and serves as a consultant, adviser and director on corporate boards.

Among the three legs of the triad, the U.S. Navy’s ballistic missile submarines are the most survivable and the hardest to detect. Their advanced nuclear propulsion and sound-dampening technology allow them to sail silently anywhere in the world. However, the current fleet of Ohio Class submarines is nearing the end of its lifespan, and the new Columbia Class is in the works to begin replacing Ohio Class submarines as early as 2031 and serve into the 2080s. The Cipher Brief spoke to retired Admiral Jonathan Greenert, former chief of naval operations, about why the Navy’s ballistic missile submarines remain crucial to U.S. national security and what makes the Columbia Class the quietest and most versatile submarine in the world.

The Cipher Brief: What will be the role of the Columbia-class submarines for U.S. national security?

“The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for former intelligence officers; no media outlet is even a close second to The Cipher Brief in terms of the number of articles published by formers.” —Sept. 2018, Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 62

Access all of The Cipher Brief’s national security-focused expert insight by becoming a Cipher Brief Subscriber+ Member.

Subscriber+