U.S. nuclear-powered ship maker Huntington Ingalls Industries said on Thursday that it has delivered USS Delaware (SSN-791) attack submarine to the U.S. Navy.
In a video statement published on the Huntington Ingalls’s Facebook page on October 25, Dave Bolcar, vice president of Virginia-Class Submarine Construction at NNS, thanked shipbuilders for their hard work and congratulates them on delivering one of the most mission-ready submarines to the fleet.
The Virginia-class submarine is the ninth to be delivered by NNS and the 18th built as part of a teaming agreement with General Dynamics Electric Boat. More than 10,000 shipbuilders from Newport News and Electric Boat have participated in Delaware’s construction since the work began in September 2013; more than 5,000 suppliers across 48 states have provided parts and materials critical to the submarine’s construction.
The 7,800-ton submarine is designed for a broad spectrum of open-ocean and littoral missions.
Virginia-class submarines, a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines, are built for a broad spectrum of open-ocean and littoral missions to replace the Navy’s Los Angeles-class submarines. Virginia-class submarines incorporate dozens of new technologies and innovations that increase firepower, maneuverability and stealth and significantly enhance their warfighting capabilities. These 377-foot long submarines are capable of supporting multiple mission areas and can operate at submerged speeds of more than 25 knots for months at a time.