The Doomsday Ships: New U.S. Ballistic Missile Submarine Program

... the backbone of the U.S. nuclear juggernaut. According to the Congressional Research Service , by 2018 implementation of the START III Treaty will see SSBNs account for about 35 percent of total launchers and deployed launchers (280 out of 800 and 240 ... ... percent of total warheads (1,152 out of 2,152). Building a new-generation SSBN is a top priority for any scenario. Today, the U.S. Navy has 14 Ohio-class SSBNs. Of them, 18 were built in 1976-1997, but in the 2000s four were converted into guided-missile submarines ...