Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), America’s largest shipbuilder and leading provider of mission-driven defense technologies, on March 14, 2022 delivered the newest Virginia-class fast-attack submarine to the U.S. Navy.

USS Montana (SSN-794), which successfully completed sea trials last month, is the 10th Virginia-class submarine to be delivered by HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division and the 21st built as part of the teaming agreement with General Dynamics’ Electric Boat.

«We continue to be proud of our partnership with the U.S. Navy in delivering the most advanced ships in the world to our warfighters», said Jason Ward, Newport News Shipbuilding vice president of Virginia-class submarine construction. «The results of the Navy’s board of inspection and survey during sea trials are a testament to our priorities of safety and quality. We are proud of our team of shipbuilders for delivering these critical capabilities to the Navy and the nation».

More than 10,000 shipbuilders from Newport News Shipbuilding and Electric Boat have participated in Montana’s construction since the work began in May 2015. The submarine was christened by the ship’s sponsor, former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, during a ceremony in September 2020.

Montana is the third of the 10-ship group of Virginia-class submarines known as Block IV. Block IV submarines incorporate design changes focused on reduced total ownership cost. By making smaller-scale design changes, the U.S. Navy will increase the length of time between maintenance stops and increase the number of deployments.

 

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	07-31-21
SSN-796 New Jersey	NNS	11-13-21
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