The US Navy needs new SSBN nuclear missile submarines. Their existing Ohio Class boats will begin to retire at a rate of 1 hull per year, beginning in 2027, as they reach the end of their 42-year operational lifetimes. Hence SSBN-X, also known as the
At 42,000 tons fully loaded, de Gaulle is half the size of America’s Nimitz-class supercarriers. She can carry up to forty aircraft while underway, both rotary and fixed-wing.