The Navy formally announced Wednesday that the first in a new class of ballistic missile submarines will be named the USS Columbia (SSBN-826) in honor of the District of Columbia.

The Navy plans to build 12 submarines to make up the new class, which will be known as the Columbia class, to replace the current Ohio-class fleet of 14 ballistic missile submarines built in the 1980s and '90s. The Columbia class is expected to cost $97 billion to build. The submarines will carry ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads.

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, ranking member of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, issued a statement following the Navy's announcement calling the decision to name the submarines after the nation's capital "the highest compliment that the Navy can bestow on this critical program."

The submarines will patrol the seas until the 2080s, Courtney said, noting that "hardworking men and women at Electric Boat and the hundreds of suppliers across our state have already been hard at work for years to support this program, and remain committed to ensuring its success. Southeastern Connecticut is ready to take on this task which the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral John Richardson has called 'foundational to Americas national security.'"