Ohio class submarine
Overview
 
The Ohio class is a class of nuclear-powered
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...

 submarines used by the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

. The United States has 18 Ohio-class submarines:
  • 14 nuclear-powered SSBNs (fleet ballistic missile submarines (FBM)), each armed with up to 24 Trident II
    UGM-133 Trident II
    UGM-133 Trident II, or Trident D5 is a submarine-launched ballistic missile, built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Sunnyvale, California, and deployed with the US Navy and Royal Navy. It was first deployed in 1990, and is still in service....

     SLBMs; they are also known as "Trident" submarines
    Trident submarine
    Trident submarine may refer to the following classes of submarine.*Ohio class submarine of the United States Navy, armed with Trident Ballistic Missiles or Cruise Missiles ....

    , and provide the sea-based leg of the nuclear triad
    Nuclear triad
    A nuclear triad refers to a nuclear arsenal which consists of three components, traditionally strategic bombers, ICBMs and SLBMs. The purpose of having a three-branched nuclear capability is to significantly reduce the possibility that an enemy could destroy all of a nation's nuclear forces in a...

     of the United States strategic nuclear weapons arsenal
  • 4 nuclear-powered SSGNs (cruise missile submarines), each capable of carrying 154 Tomahawk
    BGM-109 Tomahawk
    The Tomahawk is a long-range, all-weather, subsonic cruise missile. Introduced by General Dynamics in the 1970s, it was designed as a medium- to long-range, low-altitude missile that could be launched from a surface platform. It has been improved several times and, by way of corporate divestitures...

     cruise missiles with either conventional or nuclear warheads


The Ohio class is named after the lead submarine of this class, the formerly designated SSBN-726.
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