Advances in whole of service life reactors may justify just 12 Columbia's, but cost, flexibility and anticipating future threats must also be factored into higher numbers of Columbia SSBNs.
Virginia Cost (Wikipedia): $2.7 billion per unit but then a total of $3.2 billion per unit with VPM. Meaning adding the Virginia Payload Modules (VPM) on Virginia class Block Vs will cost an extra US$500 million to total US$3.2 billion all up per Block V Virginia submarine.
Building Block Vs with VPMs may depend on whether 4 or 5 Columbia class SSGNs are built! A Columbia SSGN may have 16 multipurpose Virginia/Columbia Payload Tubes (V/C PTs) (x 6 Tomahawks) with each Columbia SSGN having 96 Tomahawk SLCMs.
Building 4 Columbia class SSGNs may allow flexibility to retrofit each V/C PT to fit Trident II SLBMs. This would help the US face unexpected increases in opponent SSBN or conventionally propelled ballistic missile submarines (SSBs) meaning that planning to meet the Russian SSBN threat is no longer the whole picture.
The US needs to factor in also meeting:
- 10 to 14 modern Chinese Type 096 and then 098 SSBNs all armed with JL-3 SLBMs, and
- North Korean, Pakistani and Iranian nuclear missile carrying SSBs
Pete
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