The United States has ostentatiously displayed one of their main deterrence tools in European waters, at the entrance of the Mediterranean. Although not a first, this visit of an American nuclear ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), apparently the USS Alaska, to Gibraltar is mainly intended, like previous times, to send geopolitical messages.
One of the 14 American nuclear ballistic missile submarines, presumably the USS Alaska (SSBN-732), arrived on Sunday, May 10, in the port of Gibraltar. Attached to the Kings Bay naval base in Georgia, on the Atlantic coast of the United States, the vessel made a remarkable stop in the British territory located south of the Iberian Peninsula and facing North Africa, at the strait that connects the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. The arrival of the USS Alaska in Gibraltar did not go unnoticed, immediately spotted by local observers. The U.S. command for Europe, Africa, and the 6th Fleet officially announced on Monday, May 11: “A ballistic missile submarine of the US Navy arrived in Gibraltar on May 10, 2026. This stop demonstrates the capabilities, flexibility, and ongoing commitment of the United States to their NATO allies. Ohio-class submarines are undetectable launch platforms for ballistic missiles, offering the most reliable aspect of their nuclear triad.”
A sign of reassurance towards NATO and the Europeans? This press release appears to reassure the Americans’ European allies, especially after numerous criticisms from Donald Trump, particularly regarding NATO, the foundations of which the U.S. President has clearly destabilized, which have ensured Europe’s security since the creation of the Atlantic Alliance in 1949. Therefore, this highly publicized visit of the SSBN could be seen as a sign of appeasement towards the Europeans, or at least a message to Russia that the United States still has strategic interests on the old continent and intends to protect them. This could also be perceived as a pressure tactic on Moscow regarding peace negotiations with Ukraine. It may also be directed at the Iranians, although most likely in a very secondary manner, as Donald Trump himself ruled out the use of nuclear weapons against the Tehran regime. After its stop in Gibraltar, the USS Alaska is expected to resume its patrol in the Atlantic, as this vessel has no business in the Mediterranean, where the former Ohio submarines converted into cruise missile submarines occasionally pass through Gibraltar.
Third visit of an American SSBN to Gibraltar in five years This is not the first time an American SSBN has made a stop, during a patrol, in a foreign port, including Gibraltar. In November 2022, the USS Rhode Island visited, while the American fleet had already sent the USS Alaska to show up at the rock’s foot in June 2021. It had been over 20 years since the Royal Navy base in Gibraltar had hosted an American SSBN. These stops serve as strategic signals, the first one in mid-2021 as tensions escalated significantly between Western countries and Russia, and the second one at the end of 2022 as the war in Ukraine broke out a few months earlier.
20 ballistic missiles on board In service since January 1986, the USS Alaska measures 170 meters long with a diameter of 13 meters and a displacement of 18,750 tons when submerged. Manned by 150 sailors, it is equipped with vertical silos for 20 Trident II D5 ballistic missiles with a range (dependent on the number of nuclear warheads carried) exceeding 10,000 km. Initially, these vessels could carry 24 missiles, but the inventory was reduced to 20 following the START III arms reduction treaty signed in 2010 by the United States and Russia. For self-defense, these submarines also have four lateral tubes of 533 mm for heavy Mk48 torpedoes.
Seventh of the 18 Ohio submarines commissioned between 1981 and 1997 The USS Alaska is the seventh of the 18 Ohio-class SSBNs built by the Groton shipyard in Connecticut. These vessels were in service between 1981 and 1997 and will gradually be replaced by future units of the Columbia class. In the 2000s, four of these SSBNs, the USS Ohio, USS Michigan, USS Florida, and USS Georgia, were converted into cruise missile submarines, with 22 of the 24 Trident missile silos adapted to carry seven Tomahawk missiles each, providing a capacity of 154 of these weapons. These four units, reclassified as SSGNs, can also carry deck hangars for storing equipment intended for special operations.
6 SSBNs based on the East coast, 8 on the West coast of the United States Out of the 14 Ohio-class SSBNs still in service, six are based on the East Coast at Kings Bay: Alaska, Tennessee, West Virginia, Maryland, Rhode Island, and Wyoming. The eight others (Henry M. Jackson, Alabama, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Nebraska, Maine, and Louisiana) are based on the West Coast in Kitsap, Washington, on the Pacific Ocean. Each of the two American SSBN bases also accommodates two of the SSGNs, Ohio, and Michigan for Kitsap, and Florida and Georgia for Kings Bay.
