USS Ohio arrives at Subic Bay

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 22): USS Ohio arrives at Subic Bay

The Ohio-Class submarine USS Ohio (SSGN 726) on Tuesday arrived here for a visit as part of its deployment to the Western Pacific.

With its 150 crew and officers, Ohio will conduct missions and showcase the latest capabilities of the U.S. Navy’s submarine fleet.

Measuring 560 feet long and displacing more than 18,000 tons of water when submerged, Ohio is one of the largest and most versatile submarines in the world.

It is capable of supporting a vast multitude of missions, including anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, tomahawk strike, naval special warfare involving special operations forces, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

Ohio is equipped with advanced sonar, fire control, and weapons systems and state-of-the-art sound silencing equipment allowing it to conduct its missions while remaining completely undetected.

Commissioned in 1981 as SSBN-726, Ohio was once the lead boat of the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine.

From 2002 to 2005, Ohio underwent an extensive refuel and overhaul where it was converted from a ballistic missile submarine into a guided missile submarine.

Ohio was re-commissioned in 2005 as SSGN-726.

Equipped with dual drydock shelters, Ohio is uniquely capable of supporting extensive naval special warfare operations.

Ohio is armed with up to 154 tomahawk cruise missiles, far more than any other submarine or surface warship, and can launch its entire payload in a matter of hours while remaining submerged.

Ohio is homeported at Naval Base Kitsap in Bangor, Washington but remains forward deployed out of Apra Harbor, Guam, for most of its 16-month operational cycle.

It is manned by two separate crews (Blue and Gold) who alternate every four month.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=869214