Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Newport News Shipbuilding division on June 25, 2018 delivered the newest nuclear-powered fast attack submarine to the U.S. Navy.
The future USS Indiana (SSN-789) is the 16th Virginia-class submarine built as part of the teaming agreement with General Dynamics Electric Boat and the eighth delivered by Newport News.
«We are proud to deliver Indiana to the Navy», said Dave Bolcar, Newport News’ vice president of submarine construction. «For the nearly 4,000 shipbuilders who participated in construction of the boat, there is nothing more important than knowing that this vessel will support the Navy’s missions».
Indiana, which began construction in September 2012, successfully completed sea trials earlier this month. The vessel will be commissioned later this year.
Virginia-class submarines are built for a broad spectrum of open-ocean and littoral missions to replace the Navy’s Los Angeles-class submarines as they are retired. Virginia-class submarines incorporate dozens of new technologies and innovations that increase firepower, maneuverability and stealth and significantly enhance their warfighting capabilities. These submarines are capable of supporting multiple mission areas and can operate at submerged speeds of more than 25 knots/28 mph/46.3 km/h for months at a time.
Huntington Ingalls Industries is America’s largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. For more than a century, HII’s Newport News and Ingalls shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and Mississippi have built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. HII’s Technical Solutions division provides a wide range of professional services through its Fleet Support, Integrated Missions Solutions, Nuclear & Environmental, and Oil & Gas groups. Headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, HII employs nearly 39,000 people operating both domestically and internationally.
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/10.0584 m |
| Hull Diameter | 34 feet/10.3632 m |
| Displacement | Approximately 7,800 tons/7,925 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 | 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 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 | 10-29-16 | Pearl Harbor, Hawaii |
| SSN-787 Washington | NNS | 03-05-16 | 10-07-17 | Norfolk, Virginia |
| SSN-788 Colorado | EB | 12-03-16 | 03-17-18 | |
| SSN-789 Indiana | NNS | 04-29-17 | ||
| SSN-790 South Dakota | EB | Under Construction | ||
| SSN-791 Delaware | NNS | Under Construction |