While the Navy may ultimately engineer a replacement for its 1980s era Trident II D5, the missile is being modernized with improved electronics, firing circuitry, and targeting technology to arm the emerging Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines.
A new, life-extended variant of the weapon, called the Trident II D5LE, was first installed in 2017, arming the fleet with an upgraded weapon slated to serve well into the 2040s and beyond.
“D5LE is using two stars for stellar navigation, which apparently provides more flexibility with regard to the submarine’s precise position,” Hans Kristensen, Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, told Warrior Maven.