The nuclear-powered guided missile submarine USS Ohio (SSGN-726), belonging to the United States Navy, recently arrived in the city of Brisbane, Australia, as part of a scheduled visit aimed at reinforcing the American presence in the Indo-Pacific region. This stop also marks the first time a unit of this class has visited that Australian locality.
The arrival of the USS Ohio took place on July 27, coinciding with the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of Victory Day in the Pacific, a date that symbolizes the end of World War II in that theater of operations. The presence of the submarine is part of an ongoing deployment in the Western Pacific, an area under the operational responsibility of the U.S. Seventh Fleet.
Based in Bangor, Washington, and assigned to Submarine Squadron 19, the USS Ohio is part of a select group of four submarines originally designed to carry ballistic missiles but later converted to fulfill land-attack roles. As a result of this modification, the SSGN units are capable of carrying up to 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles, providing them with highly significant deterrence and power projection capabilities.
At this point, it should be noted that this is not the USS Ohio’s first public appearance this year. In April, it was sighted on the island of Guam, where it conducted a technical stop during its transit across the Pacific. However, as is usually the case with this type of platform, details about its itinerary and presence in specific areas are typically handled discreetly. This deliberate communication policy seeks to maintain a level of uncertainty for potential adversaries, leveraging the combination of stealth and offensive capability that characterizes this class of submarine.
On the other hand, the USS Ohio’s visit to Australia must be understood within the broader framework of U.S. efforts to strengthen its military presence in the Indo-Pacific, particularly through the policies promoted under the AUKUS pact — a strategic alliance that brings together the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, aimed at increasing interoperability and regional deterrence in the face of China’s growing military power. The arrival also coincides with the reassignment of two fast attack submarines based on the East Coast — the USS Toledo and USS Indiana — to a unit based in Hawaii earlier this month, also in line with objectives to maintain a U.S. presence in the region.
Lastly, it is worth highlighting that the USS Ohio is one of the submarines of this class the Navy expects to retire in the coming years, after more than 40 years of operational service. According to specialized sources, the USS Ohio and USS Florida are scheduled for decommissioning in 2026, while the USS Michigan and USS Georgia are expected to follow around 2028. These retirements will significantly reduce the fleet’s vertical launch capacity, at a time when the incorporation of Columbia-class submarines and the Virginia Block V’s VPM module is crucial to maintaining U.S. strategic projection in the long term.
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