Submarines: SSGN Sunsets
November 22, 2023:
The U.S. Navy planned to retire its four SSGNs (cruise missile firing nuclear submarine) by 2028. In March 2011 one of these SSGNs was used in combat for the first time, firing 93 of its 160 cruise missiles at Libyan targets. At the time those four SSGNs were designated for retirement by 2026, a date that as eventually extended. The navy had a plan for replacements, even though there was very little money for new ship types. To deal with that the navy sought to build some modified Virginia SSNs (nuclear attack subs) by adding a 30-meter (94 foot) section to the hull, which would contain 26 cruise missiles. Virginias already carry 16 of these, but the SSGN models would have a more respectable 40-42. Fifteen stretched Virginias would carry the same number of cruise missiles but spread among more ships. A Virginia SSGN would cost about 25 percent ($500 million) more than a Virginia SSN.
The older SSGNs made an impressive combat debut in 2011 when most of the a hundred or more Tomahawk cruise missiles launched in one day came from the SSGN Florida. These missiles hit targets in the North African nation of Libya. While this was the first time an SSGN saw combat, it was not the first-time nuclear subs fired missiles in a combat situation. American SSNs have fired Tomahawks several times.
https://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htsub/articles/20231121.aspx
