On 24th August 2020, the U.S. Navy held a keel-laying ceremony in Groton, Connecticut and officially began the construction of a new Virginia-class attack submarine USS Idaho (SSN-799).
The U.S. Navy held a ceremony with former Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne Monday to name Nicholas Meyers as the USS Idaho (SSN-799) commander. Its crew of 135 sailors will also feature three native Idahoans.
General Dynamics Electric Boat Division is constructing this $2.44 billion piece of equipment at a shipyard in Quonset Point, Rhode Island. The submarine is 377 feet/114.8 m long, can travel up to 25 knots/28 mph/46.3 km/h and is capable of diving 800 feet/244 m.
The future USS Idaho (SSN-799) will be the fifth U.S. naval vessel named after the Gem State. The USS Idaho (SSN-799) will be the 26th submarine of the Virginia-class which is the most advanced nuclear submarine of the U.S. Navy.
The USS Idaho (SSN-799) will be the fifth ship to represent Idaho, but the first in more than a century. The last one was a battleship that played a crucial role in the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II.
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 | Under Construction | ||
| 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 |