On July 27, 2026, the U.S. Navy guided-missile submarine USS Georgia (SSGN-729) returned to Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia, to begin its official inactivation process after 42 years of active service. The arrival marks the beginning of the phased retirement of all four Ohio-class SSGN conversions, which will remove the largest single concentration of conventionally armed undersea missile payload from the active fleet. This operational drawdown precedes the full fielding of Virginia-class Block V submarines equipped with the Virginia Payload Module, creating an interim undersea strike capacity reduction for the U.S. Navy.
The four converted Ohio-class SSGNs provided the U.S. Navy with a collective theoretical capacity of 616 BGM-109 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles and dedicated facilities for up to 264 special operations personnel. Following USS Georgia’s retirement, starting on July 31, 2026, the subsequent inactivations of USS Ohio, USS Florida, and USS Michigan through FY2029 will require 22 Virginia Payload Module-equipped attack submarines to fully restore the lost vertical launch cell count.
We need more subs, destroyers, cruisers… well, more everything but admirals.