General Dynamics’ Electric Boat [GD] delivered the future USS Oregon (SSN-793)
Virginia-class submarine to the U.S. Navy on Feb. 26, the government and company said on Monday.
The Oregon is the 20th overall Virginia-class submarine and the second in the Block IV configuration.
The Virginia-class vessels are co-produced by GD Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding [HII], with GD acting as the prime contractor. GD builds certain parts of every boat while HII builds other parts of each boat, and the yards generally take turns building the reactors and performing final assembly.
“Oregon is in excellent condition and the captain and crew have expertly taken the ship through her paces,” Capt. Todd Weeks, the Virginia Class Program Manager, said in a statement.
“Today is a great day for the Oregon, a great day for the Navy and a great day for Electric Boat,” Pete DiNapoli, GD Electric Boat ship manager of SSN-793 Oregon, said at the delivery ceremony on Feb. 28.
Previously, sea trials for SSN-793 began last December and included operating the first time it submerged and high-speed runs on and below the surface.
“I was on that boat, and I wish every one of you, and really every American, could see what I see on those boats. It is eye-watering, unsurpassed technology,” Electric Boat President Kevin Graney said after the Oregon’s alpha trials.
Electric Boat noted the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) gave SSN-793 a score of 95 after the final INSURV acceptance trial.
The Block IV vessels feature improved stealth and surveillance capabilities as well as design changes that aim to increase the component-level lifecycle of the submarine and reduce total ownership costs.
“By making these smaller-scale design changes to increase the component-level lifecycle of the submarine, the Navy will increase the periodicity between depot maintenance abilities and increase the number of deployments,” the company said.