An American SSBN on a stopover in Gibraltar.

The United States has conspicuously displayed one of their main deterrent tools in European waters, in the open Mediterranean Sea. Although not a first, this stop in Gibraltar by an American ballistic missile nuclear submarine (SSBN), apparently the USS Alaska, is mainly intended, as in previous occasions, to send geopolitical messages.

One of the 14 American ballistic missile nuclear submarines (SSBN), presumably the USS Alaska (SSBN-732), arrived on Sunday, May 10 in the port of Gibraltar. Attached to the Kings Bay naval base (Georgia) on the Atlantic coast of the United States, the vessel made a notable stop in the British territory located south of the Iberian Peninsula and facing North Africa, at the level of 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 spotters. And for those who might have missed it, the American command for Europe, Africa, and the 6th fleet officially announced it on Monday, May 11: “A US Navy ballistic missile submarine arrived in Gibraltar on May 10, 2026. This stop demonstrates the capabilities, flexibility, and continued commitment of the United States to their NATO allies. The Ohio-class submarines are undetectable launch platforms for ballistic missiles, providing the United States with the most reliable aspect of their nuclear triad”.

A sign of reassurance towards NATO and Europeans?

A statement of interest as it appears to be reassurance from the Americans towards their European allies, following numerous criticisms from Donald Trump, especially regarding NATO, whose president clearly destabilized the historical foundations that have ensured Europe’s security since the creation of the Atlantic Alliance in 1949. Therefore, this heavily publicized stop of the SSBN could be seen as a sign of appeasement towards Europeans, or at least a message to Russia that the United States still have strategic interests in the old continent and intend to protect them. This could also be perceived as putting pressure on Moscow regarding peace negotiations with Ukraine. It could also be directed at the Iranians, although probably in a very secondary manner, as Donald Trump himself ruled out the use of atomic 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 also make more or less regular stops (and they too can stop in Gibraltar).

Third stop of an American SSBN in 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 in Gibraltar. In November 2022, the USS Rhode Island visited, while the American fleet had already sent the USS Alaska to show itself at the foot of the rock in June 2021. It had been over 20 years since the Royal Navy base in Gibraltar had welcomed an American SSBN. These stops serve as strategic signals, the first one in mid-2021 as tensions were escalating seriously between Western powers and Russia, and the second by the end of 2022 when the war in Ukraine had broken 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 (depending on the number of nuclear warheads carried) that can exceed 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 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 entered service between 1981 and 1997 and will be gradually replaced by the future Columbia-class units. In the 2000s, four of these SSBNs (USS Ohio, USS Michigan, USS Florida, and USS Georgia) were converted into cruise missile submarines, with 22 of the 24 Trident missile silos being adapted to each carry seven Tomahawks, providing a capacity of 154 of these weapons. These four units, reclassified as SSGNs, can also carry deck hangars for the storage of equipment for special operations.

6 SSBNs based on the Atlantic coast, 8 on the Pacific coast

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 other eight (Henry M. Jackson, Alabama, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Nebraska, Maine, and Louisiana) are based in Kitsap, Washington state, on the Pacific Ocean. Each of the two American SSBN bases also hosts two SSGNs: Ohio and Michigan for Kitsap, and Florida and Georgia for Kings Bay.

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