Ohio-class Submarine

The U.S. Navy's ballistic-missile and guided-missile submarine class, forming the sea-based leg of the nuclear triad with 14 SSBN boomers, plus four converted to conventional-strike SSGN carrying Tomahawk missiles.

In service since 1981 · 1 operator countries

Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-02

240

m depth

18,750

155

crew

Procurement snapshot

Availability & export

US ITAR-controlled

Export needs U.S. State Dept (DDTC) approval; end-use & re-transfer restrictions apply.

Channel: Foreign Military Sales (FMS) or Direct Commercial Sale

Fielded & proven

Limited · 1 operator

In service since 1981. Status: active · ~18 built.

Lifecycle cost (est.)

No public unit price to model from.

Interoperability

Mk 41 VLS-class

Derived guidance from public data — export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.

Full specifications

Firepower

Armament, payload and guidance.

VLS cells Vertical-launch missile cells on a warship — a proxy for magazine depth. Higher means more missiles before rearming.: 24

Top 4% of submarines
Torpedo tubes Number of torpedo tubes (submarines and some surface ships).: 4

Stronger than 13% of submarines

Physical

Dimensions, weight and crew.

Length Overall length including gun/probe where applicable.: 170.7 m

Naval

Displacement, speed, endurance and diving depth.

Displacement Standard displacement in tonnes — the ship’s size class. Larger hulls carry more but cost more and are less agile.: 18,750 t
Max speed Top speed in knots (surfaced, for submarines). Higher aids positioning and screening.: 25 kn

Stronger than 82% of submarines
Submerged speed Maximum speed while submerged (submarines). Higher is faster underwater.: 25 kn

Stronger than 73% of submarines
Test depth Maximum rated diving depth (submarines). Deeper is harder to detect and engage. Actual crush depth is classified.: 240 m

Stronger than 14% of submarines
Complement Crew size. Fewer eases manning cost; more may indicate a larger, more capable platform.: 155
Propulsion plant Machinery type — nuclear reactor, gas turbine (COGAG), CODAG, diesel-electric, AIP.: 1x S8G nuclear reactor

Program

Cost, production scale and operators.

Units built Total production run. Higher means proven manufacturing, mature logistics and spares availability.: 18

Stronger than 80% of submarines
Operator countries Number of countries operating the system. More operators means broader support ecosystem.: 1

Stronger than 39% of submarines

Specifications compiled from public General Dynamics Electric Boat and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations — treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-02.

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