Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Newport News Shipbuilding division has achieved a milestone in the construction of the submarine USS New Jersey (SSN-796).
The company reached pressure hull complete on February 10, meaning that all of its hull sections were joined to form a single, watertight unit. This is the latest major milestone before the submarine is christened and floated off.
«Achieving this milestone is especially significant as it continues to prove our teams can safely perform at a high level in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic», said Jason Ward, vice president of Virginia-class submarine construction. «The successful execution of this event demonstrates our culture of trust, accountability and strict adherence to standards, which is paramount in our building warships for our Navy customer».
USS New Jersey (SSN-796) is the 23rd Virginia-class fast attack submarine. Construction began in March 2016 and is about 72% complete. The boat is scheduled for delivery to the U.S. Navy in 2022.
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 IV
| Ship | Yard | Christening | Commissioned | Homeport |
| SSN-792 Vermont | EB | 10-20-18 | 04-18-20 | Groton, Connecticut |
| SSN-793 Oregon | EB | 10-05-19 | ||
| SSN-794 Montana | NNS | 09-12-20 | ||
| SSN-795 Hyman G. Rickover | EB | Under Construction | ||
| SSN-796 New Jersey | NNS | Under Construction | ||
| SSN-797 Iowa | EB | Under Construction | ||
| SSN-798 Massachusetts | NNS | Under Construction | ||
| SSN-799 Idaho | EB | Under Construction | ||
| SSN-800 Arkansas | NNS | Under Construction | ||
| SSN-801 Utah | EB | Under Construction |