Billion-Dollar Beasts: Exploring the Most Expensive Military Vehicles to Ever Hit the Battlefield

9. USS Columbia

Overview of the USS Columbia (SSN-771) Joined the Service: 1995 Producer: General Dynamics Electric Boat Price: *$14.5 billion Key Specifications Class: Sixty-first attack submarine of the Los Angeles (LA) class. Name Significance: The USS Columbia is the eighth ship to carry the name. Construction Period: Built between 1993 and 1994. Length: The submarine measures 362 feet. Motto: "Preserving Freedom on the Seas."

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Twitter.com/seawaves_mag/USS Columbia The USS Columbia has been upgraded for flight, allowing it to accommodate aircraft. It has four floatplanes attached to it. After being utilized in WWII, the lighter Columbia models were sold for scrap. An upgrade is being supplied to the new LA-class. The Navy claims that the USS Columbia will receive the most extensive refit ever the following year. The U.S. Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus, named the improved USS Columbia SSBN-826 on December 14, 2016. The Columbia class will be led by the ballistic US Navy missile submarine. It will also hold the distinction of being the first ship in the Navy to bear the name Washington, D.C.