USS Montana (SSN-794)

USS Montana (SSN-794)
Montana on 1 February 2022
History
United States
NameMontana
NamesakeState of Montana
Ordered28 April 2014[1]
BuilderNewport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia
Laid down16 May 2018[2]
Launched8 February 2021
Sponsored bySally Jewell
Christened12 September 2020[3]
Acquired12 March 2022[4]
Commissioned25 June 2022[5]
HomeportNorfolk
IdentificationHull symbol:SSN-794
Statusin active service[1]
General characteristics
Class and typeVirginia-class submarine
Displacement7,800 tons
Length377 ft (115 m)[6]
Beam34 ft (10.4 m)[6]
Draft32 ft (9.8 m)[6]
PropulsionS9G reactor
Speed25 knots (46 km/h)
Endurancecan remain submerged for up to 3 months
Test depthgreater than 800 ft (244 m)
Complement
  • 15 officers
  • 120 enlisted men
Armament12 VLS tubes, four 21 inch (530 mm) torpedo tubes for Mk-48 torpedoes BGM-109 Tomahawk

Montana (SSN-794) is a Virginia-class attack submarine of the United States Navy. She honors the U.S. State of Montana. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced the name on 3 September 2015 at a ceremony hosted in Billings, Montana with U.S. Senator Jon Tester.[7]

A contract modification for USS Oregon (SSN-793), Montana (SSN-794), and USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN-795) was initially awarded to General Dynamics Electric Boat for $594.7 million in April 2012. On 23 December 2014, they were awarded an additional $121.8 million contract modification to buy long lead-time material for the three Virginia-class submarines.[8] The U.S. Navy awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat the contract to construct 10 Block IV Virginia-class submarines for $17.6 billion on 28 April 2014. The tenth boat is scheduled for delivery in 2023.[6]

Construction of Montana began in May 2015 at Huntington Ingalls Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia. Contract completion date was expected to be in May 2020, but this was delayed because of the COVID pandemic.[9][10]

Sally Jewell, Montana's sponsor and former U.S. Interior Secretary, christened the vessel on 12 September 2020 at Newport News Shipbuilding, via a virtual ceremony due to the pandemic. Montana was rolled out on 15 October 2020 and will be delivered to the Navy by mid-2022.[11] She was launched in February 2021,[12] and was commissioned on 25 June 2022 at Naval Station Norfolk.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Naval Vessel Register".
  2. ^ "Huntington Ingalls Industries Authenticates Keel of Submarine Montana (SSN 794)" (Press release). Huntington Ingalls Industries. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  3. ^ "Virginia-Class Submarine Montana (SSN 794) Christened during Virtual Ceremony at Newport News Shipbuilding" (Press release). Huntington Ingalls Industries. 12 September 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Future USS Montana delivered to U.S. Navy" (Press release). United States Navy. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Navy Commissions USS Montana (SSN 794)" (Press release). United States Navy. 27 June 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d "SSN 774 Virginia class submarine". bga-aeroweb.com. Archived from the original on 15 March 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  7. ^ "US Navy Submarine will be named U.S.S Montana". KXLH News. 3 September 2015. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  8. ^ Snider, John (8 January 2015). "Shipbuilding News, January 2014". Professional Mariner. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  9. ^ Riley, John. "Montana flag presented to U.S. Navy for namesake submarine". KTVQ.com. KTVQ. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  10. ^ "The Ship". USS Montana Committee. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  11. ^ KECI Staff (12 September 2020). "Virtual USS Montana submarine christening ceremony held". KECI. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  12. ^ "Newport News Shipbuilding Launches Submarine Montana". military.com.

Further reading

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