Navy Commissions New Virginia-class Attack Boat USS Massachusetts in Boston Ceremony
A new Virginia-class attack submarine entered naval service over the weekend, the U.S. Navy announced.
The service commissioned USS Massachusetts (SSN-798), a Block IV Virginia-class boat, during a Saturday ceremony in the Boston Harbor.
“It is the fifth Navy vessel named after the commonwealth of Massachusetts, following the most recent, USS Massachusetts, a battleship that participated in nearly every major Pacific campaign from 1943 to 1945 and earned 11 battle stars for its World War II service,” reads a service news release.
Imagery from the event shows USS Constitution, America’s oldest warship, underway behind the submarine.
Sheryl Sandberg, the former chief operating officer of Facebook, is the sponsor for Massachusetts. In addition to Sandberg, Adm. William Houston, the head of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, attended the event.
Submarine builders General Dynamics Electric Boat and HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding construct the Virginia-class boats in a partnership across their two yards.
Over the last few years the Navy has struggled to finalize contracts for the Virginia-class boats. Last April, the Navy issued an award for the last two Block V attack boats after two years of negotiations. The service is still working on a contract for the next Block VI Virginia boats.
