US Navy's Newest Virginia-Class Submarine Commissioned

HII has delivered its latest Virginia-class submarine, newly named the USS Arkansas, to the U.S. Navy.

The new vessel, SSN 800, was officially named and commissioned at a special ceremony at the weekend held at the Virginia dockyard of HII subsidiary Newport News Shipbuilding.

As per a recent company press statement, the ship’s sponsors are the six women of the historic group known as the Little Rock Nine, the first African American students to attend all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas during desegregation. NNS honored all nine members during Saturday’s ceremony.

“Today we celebrate the mighty submarine Arkansas, and we honor bravery and impact: the heroes and heroic moments that shape our future and make us who we are,” NNS President Jennifer Boykin said. “As high school students, the Little Rock Nine exhibited courage, and showed the American people what determination and perseverance look like. Their spirit guided them then, and today SSN 800 will be instilled with this same spirit of courage, determination, and resilience.”

Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro added: "Arkansas represents the very best of our submarine force capabilities and will operate confidently with her crew at sea."

Arkansas is the 27th Virginia-class submarine and the 13th to be delivered by NNS, one of only two shipyards designing and building nuclear-powered submarines for the U.S. Navy. They are built under a unique teaming arrangement between NNS and General Dynamics Electric Boat.

Virginia-class fast attack subs are designed to operate in both open ocean and littoral waters and are suited to a variety of missions, including Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), anti-ship warfare, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), mine warfare, and special operations forces support.

Three Virginia-class subs will be sold to the Royal Australian Navy to boost its undersea capabilities under the AUKUS agreement while the U.K. and Australia continue work on the new SSN-AUKUS submarine, planned to enter service in the late 2030s and early 2040s.

The U.S. currently plans to construct a total of 51 Virginia-class submarines; work on designing its successor, the SSN(X) began in 2021.

• You can read more details about the USS Arkansas on the HII website