How long before the US Navy asks Congress to fund new guided-missile submarines?
Short answerNo date is given; further Ohio conversions or a guided-missile version of the new submarine class are expected because the capability is useful for gunboat diplomacy.
NotesThe Ohio SSGNs are useful signaling tools because they can appear near an opponent's coast as a reminder of American strike power. That gunboat-diplomacy role gives the US Navy a reason to preserve the capability after the present conversions retire. Further conversions of younger Ohio hulls or a guided-missile variant of the next ballistic-missile-submarine design are the expected options. No date is offered for a request to Congress.