The Navy’s newest submarine was delivered to the U.S. Navy with nearly 100 percent on board material August 26, thanks to the collaboration between the ship’s supply department and Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) Fleet Logistics Center (FLC) Norfolk, Groton Division.
According to Assistant Division Director Lieutenant Joseph Aiello, USS Illinois (SSN-786) was delivered ahead of schedule with 99.51 percent on board material – well above the contractual requirement of 97 percent.
Behind the scenes, a small cadre of logistic specialists quietly executed the functions of outfitting and stowing the Navy’s newest submarine. The team tracked and monitored the delivery of more than 10,000 items to include all Authorized Medical Allowance List (AMAL), Authorized Dental Allowance List (ADAL), General Use Consumables List (GUCL), and Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) to the submarine.
«Beyond the hull of Illinois, the most valuable asset – the crew – was provided with dedicated support facilities to ensure training, administration and day-to-day operations of the command continued unencumbered by the construction», said Aiello.
NAVSUP FLC Norfolk, Groton Division is a relatively small unit comprised of 19 civilian and military personnel.
«The single aspect that, to me, is most inspiring about the organization is the sheer dedication to the Sailors on the waterfront and the true collaborative nature that is fostered across the spectrum of organizations at the shipyard», said Aiello.
According to Aiello, collaboration between civilian employees and military staff is a noted organizational strength of the unit.
«While a good segment of the team have prior military experience, those who do not have demonstrated the same commitment to excellence and truly understand the need for flawless customer support», he added.
USS Illinois (SSN-786), which is the 13th submarine in the Virginia class, is scheduled to be commissioned October 29.
General Characteristics
| Builder | General Dynamics Electric Boat Division and Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. – Newport News Shipbuilding |
| Date Deployed | October 3, 2004 |
| Propulsion | One GE PWR S9G* nuclear reactor, two turbines, one shaft; 40,000 hp/30 MW |
| Length | 377 feet/114.8 m |
| Beam | 33 feet/10.06 m |
| Hull Diameter | 34 feet/10.36 m |
| Displacement | Approximately 7,835 tons/7,961 metric tons submerged |
| Speed | 25+ knots/28+ mph/46.3+ km/h |
| Diving Depth | 800+ feet/244+ m |
| Crew | 132: 15 officers; 117 enlisted |
| Armament: Tomahawk missiles | 12 individual VLS (Vertical Launch System) tubes or two 87-in/2.2 m Virginia Payload Tubes (VPTs), each capable of launching 6 Tomahawk cruise missiles |
| Armament: MK-48 ADCAP (Advanced Capability) Mod 7 heavyweight torpedoes | 4 torpedo tubes |
| Weapons | MK-60 CAPTOR (Encapsulated Torpedo) mines, advanced mobile mines and UUVs (Unmanned Underwater Vehicles) |
* – Knolls Atomic Power Laboratories
Nuclear Submarine Lineup
Block I
| Ship | Yard | Christening | Commissioned | Homeport |
| SSN-774 Virginia | EB | 8-16-03 | 10-23-04 | Portsmouth, New Hampshire |
| SSN-775 Texas | NNS | 7-31-05 | 9-9-06 | Pearl Harbor, Hawaii |
| SSN-776 Hawaii | EB | 6-19-06 | 5-5-07 | Pearl Harbor, Hawaii |
| SSN-777 North Carolina | NNS | 4-21-07 | 5-3-08 | Pearl Harbor, Hawaii |
EB – Electric Boat, Groton, Connecticut
NNS – Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia
SSN – Attack Submarine, Nuclear-powered
Block II
| Ship | Yard | Christening | Commissioned | Homeport |
| SSN-778 New Hampshire | EB | 6-21-08 | 10-25-08 | Groton, Connecticut |
| SSN-779 New Mexico | NNS | 12-13-08 | 11-21-09 | Groton, Connecticut |
| SSN-780 Missouri | EB | 12-5-09 | 7-31-10 | Groton, Connecticut |
| SSN-781 California | NNS | 11-6-10 | 10-29-11 | Groton, Connecticut |
| SSN-782 Mississippi | EB | 12-3-11 | 6-2-12 | Groton, Connecticut |
| SSN-783 Minnesota | NNS | 10-27-12 | 9-7-13 | Norfolk, Virginia |
Block III
| Ship | Yard | Christening | Commissioned | Homeport |
| SSN-784 North Dakota | EB | 11-2-13 | 10-25-14 | Groton, Connecticut |
| SSN-785 John Warner | NNS | 09-06-14 | 08-01-15 | Norfolk, Virginia |
| SSN-786 Illinois | EB | 10-10-15 | Groton, Connecticut | |
| SSN-787 Washington | NNS | 03-05-16 | ||
| SSN-788 Colorado | EB | Under Construction | ||
| SSN-789 Indiana | NNS | Under Construction | ||
| SSN-790 South Dakota | EB | Under Construction | ||
| SSN-791 Delaware | NNS | Under Construction |