US Navy retires 42‑year‑old USS Georgia Ohio‑class submarine

The nuclear‑powered submarine USS Georgia (SSGN‑729) returned to Kings Bay, Georgia, on 27 July after its final combat patrol and will be formally decommissioned at Norfolk later this year. The vessel, commissioned in 1984 and converted between 2002‑2008 from a Trident‑ballistic missile carrier to a guided‑missile SSGN, has served in operations such as Midnight Hammer and Epc Fury in the Mediterranean and the Middle East.

USS Georgia is the last of four Ohio‑class SSGNs slated for retirement; the remaining three (USS Ohio, USS Michigan and USS Florida) are expected to leave service within the next two years. The U.S. Navy plans to replace them with newer Virginia‑class Block V/VI submarines and, eventually, a new Columbia‑class fleet beginning in 2031, ensuring continuity of the nation’s sea‑based nuclear deterrent.