The US Navy has accepted delivery of the USS Massachusetts (SSN 798), the 25th Virginia-class fast-attack submarine and the latest vessel handed over by HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding. As the fifth Navy ship to bear the Massachusetts name and the seventh Block IV submarine, the vessel incorporates design upgrades that aim to reduce maintenance cycles and increase the number of operational deployments throughout its service life.
Work on the Massachusetts began in 2020, with its keel laid virtually due to pandemic restrictions. The submarine was christened in May 2023 by ship sponsor Sheryl Sandberg and entered the James River in early 2024. Initial sea trials conducted in October assessed its propulsion, navigation, weapons systems, and performance at high speeds both above and below the surface. It will continue final evaluations with its crew ahead of commissioning next year.
The submarine’s construction involved more than 10,000 shipbuilders from Newport News and General Dynamics Electric Boat, supported by thousands of suppliers across the US defense industrial base. The program forms part of a 2014 contract awarded to HII and General Dynamics to replace the Navy’s aging Los Angeles-class fleet, which has been operational since the 1970s. The Virginia-class is designed to ensure long-term undersea superiority in an increasingly contested maritime environment.
Virginia-class boats range from 115 to 140 meters in length with a 10-meter beam and rely on a 280,000-horsepower nuclear reactor powering pump-jet propulsion and steam turbines. Equipped with torpedoes, Tomahawk cruise missiles, and Harpoon anti-ship missiles, the class supports a wide spectrum of missions from deep-ocean strike to littoral surveillance and anti-surface warfare.
