According to a PR published by HII on May 6, 2023, the company recently christened the Virginia-class attack submarine Massachusetts (SSN 798) at their Newport News Shipbuilding division.
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Virginia class submarine USS Massachusetts. (Picture source: HII)
The ceremony, attended by over 2,000 guests including NNS employees, members of the submarine's crew, Navy personnel, and government officials, took place outside the Module Outfitting Facility at NNS.
About the Virginia class
The Virginia class, also known as the SSN-774 class, is a class of nuclear-powered fast-attack submarines in service in the United States Navy.
The Virginia-class submarines are built by General Dynamics Electric Boat (EB) and Huntington Ingalls Industries, and are designed to replace older Los Angeles-class submarines.
The submarines have a submerged displacement of 7,900 tons and a length of 377 feet, which increases to 460 feet for Block V. The beam of the Virginia-class submarines is 34 feet.
Propulsion for the Virginia-class submarines is provided by a single S9G nuclear reactor, which produces 280,000 horsepower. The submarines also feature two steam turbines with a total output of 40,000 shp, and a single shaft pump-jet propulsor.
The Virginia-class submarines are capable of achieving a top speed of 25 knots, or over 46 km/h, and have unlimited range, with endurance limited only by food and maintenance requirements.
The Virginia-class submarines are armed with 12 vertical launch system (VLS) tubes capable of launching BGM-109 Tomahawk missiles, and four 21-inch torpedo tubes for Mk-48 torpedos or UGM-84 Harpoon missiles. The submarines are capable of carrying 25 torpedoes and missiles in the torpedo room, as well as 12 missiles in the VLS tubes.
